Wisdom at Work

Wisdom, part 3

This is the third of a series of reflections based on the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The series began on December 1.

“ . . . and teach us in her [Wisdom’s] ways to go.”

Something’s been going on in my life the past two weeks that I thought I needed to address, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I actually had several options to choose from. Meanwhile, I’ve been writing these reflections on Wisdom and as result I’ve been asking for guidance in my prayer and meditation, knowing full well that the way of Wisdom was not necessarily the way I would choose if left to my own devices.

So I prayed, and waited. God gave me the grace not to do anything at all about the situation until I was able to pray with conviction: “teach me in her ways to go.”

So what happened? Yesterday afternoon  I was with one of the people involved in the situation, but chose not to say anything. Instead, I found myself acting in a way I never would have predicted, and as a result, simply by being with the other person and practicing compassion and gentleness was all that was needed to bring relief to something that could have been tense and full of confrontation.

This was a truly graced moment. It is important to stress that none of the solutions I had come up with on my own were applied to the situation. Something entirely different and unexpected proved to be the key to unlock the door to resolution.

God’s ways are not my ways. But because I was given the grace to surrender to his Wisdom, and to lay aside my own limited point-of-view, I was able to witness Wisdom at work. And not only did the situation benefit, but I benefitted as well. And I hope you can benefit from my telling this story.

Blessed Advent to you.