Yesterday was a beautiful day. The kids were still on spring break and they were playing outside enjoying the day. There was laughter as they played in the creek and teasing as the girls found David while he was spying on them. Lots of productive work was accomplished. I was feeling pretty good about it all. Then it was time for soccer. I took the girls and prepared to walk during their practice.

I checked my blood sugar and it was a little low, so I ate some sugar and shut off my insulin pump. Easy enough, I thought. I walked for about 15 minutes while listening to music. God was speaking to me through the green leaves on the trees, the friendly smiles on faces passing me by and the solitude of His creation. Peaceful. I rounded the corner to the part of the park that takes you to where not many people go. This is my favorite part. You can get lost in the music and feel truly alone…most enjoyable. Suddenly, though, I couldn’t remember what song was being sung. The only thing I could think of was how heavy my legs were becoming. It was getting harder and harder to walk. The bench that is always on the sideline seemed so very far away. I usually mock and laugh at this bench as I walk by. I have never seen someone sit there. Why, really, would anyone sit when there is a path to walk on right there?  It seems a very odd spot for a rest in the middle of a field with a walking path.

Regardless, I finally made my way to the bench. I was out of breath and knew the blood test needed to be taken. I took it and had the lowest blood sugar ever. I’m not really sure why I was still conscious at that point, but I ate more sugar and sat. My dear husband stayed on the phone with me for 30 minutes as I just sat. Ten minutes went by and I tested again. It was still low. My mind began to formulate plans on how I could walk to the van to get more sugar, even though I knew I wouldn’t make it. I tested again, still low. I began to panic! I had eaten all of my sugar, what was I going to do?

Then, like an angel sent from God there was a family with two kids walking towards me. Now, any mom out there knows you always carry food for your kids when you go out. So, like a beggar, I asked for any snacks they might have. The only thing left from their journey was a half-eaten fruit roll-up, which I gladly ate…germs and all. I thanked them repeatedly and assured them I would be fine as long as I just sat and they continued on their way. Testing again, I was still low. Ten minutes later, I tested yet again and was high enough to make it to the van. I decided to follow two ladies back so I could call out to them if needed, but they were walking way too fast and I wasn’t about to walk that quickly. I can’t say that I was too relaxed at that moment.

Making it back to the van after another ten minutes brought a brief feeling of security as I had more sugar. But, it was time to get the girls and they were on the upper fields…a good three minute journey that seemed like a marathon as I stepped out of the van on very weak legs. I crossed the bridge to the lower fields and realized quickly I was not going to make it up there, so I sat down. This time, it was on the very walking path I had been walking earlier. There was no bench to mock, just hard, cold concrete. And, there I sat. I found another soccer player from the girls’ team and asked her to get the girls. A friend found more candy for me and sat with me the next 30 minutes until my blood sugar was high enough that I felt comfortable driving. Boy was I exhausted when I got home!  My body fought hard to survive and survived it did!

It was interesting to me that the very spot I found insignificant during most of my journeys was actually a lifesaver for me on this journey. Not only was this a bench, but it was a bench with a canopy on top. So, not only did I have a place to sit I had shade from the sun. I had room to stretch out and breathe deeply and wait. Did I mentioned I waited 30 minutes? This was half of the original time I was taking to walk. And yet, both literally and figuratively, it didn’t kill me. You see, other people were on their journey, too. Some looked at me and passed me by and others offered to help. Their words of encouragement helped give me hope and hope produced strength.

So, how do I apply this spiritually? You knew I’d get there, right? Well, there are many times I feel I’m waiting on the sidelines of life and I get impatient and want to move along. God proved to me yesterday that those times of waiting will not kill me. I just in fact might be enabling someone else to provide help to me on their journey. I might be fueling my body with much needed sugar (as I wait) so that I can be prepared for the rest of my journey. These are the times I continue to feed myself God’s Word when I feel nothing is happening. I never know when I’ll need that spiritual energy for the next leg of my journey. The next leg of my journey might only take me back to the van where I need to refuel again and feed myself much needed Scripture. Or, my journey might take me to the farthest part of the park where I’m alone with God and at complete rest with Him.  Regardless, I will no longer mock the bench. I will respect the waiting and will respect those waiting on the sidelines of life. I will stop to ask if they need any “snacks”.

© 2012 Susan M. Sims

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius at freedigitalphotos.net

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