As I sat down and checked the tracker to see what Olympic events were happening today, I started thinking about watching sports. To watch an athlete, game or match can be enjoyable and interesting. But then there can be a wrinkle to it. When someone you know or care about is the one who is competing it becomes a little different. If you were expecting me to write something about Lent or about spiritual practices in Lent my apologies. The reality is that too many people we all know, too many people we care about in our world and in our lives are going through it. Sitting down and just thinking about the people and families who were going through difficult times left me exhausted and feeling overwhelmed.
This winter Will wrestled for the first time. And it was hard for Sara and I to watch. Not because of the wins and losses side of things, but because you are watching your child get grappled and at times tossed around. Early on Sara showed me a video of one of our nephews going airborne while wrestling. All you really can do is sit there and watch from the sidelines. Sure you can shout words of encouragement. You can clap, and other forms of cheering. But the reality is you just have to sit there and watch as your child and others you know go through it, get pinned, tossed and the like.
There is a powerlessness that happens in it. Once I found myself trying to get Will to flip over by moving my hands, as if I was a Jedi and was trying to use the force to get him flipped. I kept on telling him to flip over. Sadly, I couldn’t. I just had to sit there and watch. Something that I don’t do well at the best of times.
It’s hard when we see someone we know and care about go through something no matter how large or small it might be. Whether it is struggles with addiction, challenges at work and in life. You don’t want to sit still and do nothing you want to do something to assist or help. You don’t feel as if you can sit idly by and let someone make this that or the other decision, or you cannot do anything in the moment.
Powerlessness in any situation is never easy and even the feeling of powerlessness is just as bad. When we feel powerless, when someone is grieving, or whatever they are going through we struggle to simply be silent and let them guide us with what they need or we can do. We make statements about how they’ll get through it or one of the many platitudes we have societally written which make us feel better by saying them. But does it really help. One of my favorite memories was of hearing my youth minister chew out someone because to quote him, “These kids just lost their Dad, and they don’t need to hear anything like that right now.”
But the reality is that the person we are concerned about is not without power. We are also not really powerless either. But it requires us to do something different something otherworldly. When we know someone who is going through the blender of life pray for them. Not just one passing prayer, but continued and sustained prayer. Not just a day or two of prayer but days, weeks, months and even years of prayer. Don’t ever stop praying for them, don’t ever let powerlessness win out. There is power in prayers. Not just in the power of actually doing something, but in knowing that a higher power, THE higher power is at work and is present in whatever moment it might be.
Claim your power brother and sisters. Call on God who loves us and cares for us and looks after us every day. Trust that God is at work and through him we are never powerless, Amen.
The Deacon for March is Terry Gaffken