...and the world passes me by

On Mondays we are to find a spot and have our quiet time with God.  I woke up earlier than usual this morning to shower and have breakfast and then walked from our apartment down to Kaertner Strasse.  At first I went to Aida Cafe and thought that might be a prime spot.  I ordered a Melange (traditional Viennese coffee) and got out my journal and Bible.  However, the chair I was sitting in was not so comfortable and I couldn't justify spending the next 3 hrs there.  I decided to give in to my American roots and went to Starbucks.  I know, I know.  I'm in the coffee mecca of the world and I went to Starbucks.  Does it make it better that I am sitting by a huge picture window facing the Opera House and the Sacher Hotel?

I've been reading through Comforts from the Cross today and the chapter I read was on suffering.  I was reminded of the people I know right now who are experiencing loss or hardships.  I was also reminded of myself and the way I whine and stomp my feet when things don't go my way and I like to call it "hardships" when really, it boils down to the fact that God is still pruning me.  A few things stuck out to me as I was reading:

"Jesus is more interested in our eternal cure than he is in our temporal relief."
"He is not capricious, picking petals off a daisy: 'I think I'll help them, I think I won't'."
"Hang on to him in faith...somehow in some way hidden to your weak eyes, your suffering if making a way for that to happen...you will see something you never could have imagined."


When I want answers, and I always want them right away, I will remember what Fitzpatrick says: "Jesus is more interested in our eternal cure than he is in our temporal relief."  Because what I think is going to be the best cure or answer for me may be the worst decision I could make for myself.

As the world passes me by next to this picture window, I'm reflecting on what that means for me.  I hope you will, too, for yourself.

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