Only read this if you need it
It has been a while since I have had to admit this but I am currently in the deep end, over my head and wishing I was still a little boy who could summon Mommy and Daddy for help.
I am in Hamilton as I write this, taking care of my son’s one-year-old, 80 pound German Shepherd. My son and his wife are in Angola, Africa on a medical project and since I can accomplish most of my work remotely, with more chutzpah than brains I volunteered my services. We had a dog a few years back but she weighed all of 15 pounds and I could pretty much make her do what I wanted. I’ve also become quite adept at caring for my daughter’s cats.
But, handling this pup is another matter. Fortunately he is extremely well-behaved or I’d be in real trouble.
To add to the complications I needed to go to Lester B Pearson airport in Toronto last evening. Everything went well until I missed one turn. Twenty minutes and $20 of toll charges later I finally recovered my sense of direction.
Putting these moments of recent helplessness on paper causes me to recognize that they are trite in comparison to what many of you are facing. I know that because with regularity people reach out to me for help facing issues for which there are no answers or solutions. Medical crises, medical crises in loved ones, shattered relationships and dreams, loved ones from whom there is estrangement, just fill in the blank of your own desperation, the list is practically endless. Situations which genuinely cause even the bravest among us to wish for the good old days when Mommy and Daddy could fix things for us.
The question is, “Where does one turn as an adult, when unfixable problems emerge? Where do you turn when every direction seems to present another storm cloud?”
For several years I have directed my own attention to a couple lines from the Bible which don’t promise to solve problems but which remind me I am not alone as I face them. They were penned by the ancient prophet Isaiah. He was representing God when he wrote this, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God …”
Most of us are not afraid of deep water or high waves. What we are afraid of is being overwhelmed. What does frighten us is facing life’s crises with no one to call on, no one who understands and no one who’ll help.
God tends to not offer quick solutions or instant miracle fixes for most of our challenges. He certainly has not provided me with a mystical plan to handle a big German Shepherd puppy. What he does offer is hope. What He does promise is Presence. I may still be in the deep end but I’m not left to swim alone.