Hidden Treasure

     Just a quick thought for the weekend--this from Henri Nouwen:

"Patience is a hard discipline. It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict. Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something. Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are. We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else. Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand."      Isn't that so true?  Don't we all suffer from that tendency--to look beyond the present moment, as if we are gazing over a dear friend's shoulder in the midst of conversation--rudely looking for someone else--and so miss the joy of their company and their wisdom?  That has been another gift of Janie's wreck--God has made me far more aware of the irreplaceable gift of each moment.  Nothing should be taken for granted, no one taken for granted.  Each day's joys--and challenges--deserve to be intentionally noticed, accepted, and appreciated.  And when we appreciate something, our natural response should and must always be gratitude.  Gratitude to our relentless Heavenly Gift-Giver.       So this weekend, might we make time and space to truly see, to truly experience, and then to truly thank God for the irreplaceable gift of each never-to-be-repeated moment, person, and place in our lives.     Even if we are in the midst of waiting or wanting or wishing... Lord, give us eyes to see... hearts to appreciate... and lips to express thanksgiving. Might we find the treasure hidden in the very ground upon which we stand. To God be the glory.