Storm-Space

 The local news story is reporting on how the moose up north are more aggressive than usual. That, deep in the Interior, recent storms have sort of caused the massive mammals to become stressed and more easily incited to attack. Snowfall has driven them more into populated areas for ease of movement, causing residents some concern. 

And I'm sitting here, struck by the irony of the comparison here... 

Perhaps the moose aren't the only ones feeling displaced and negatively affected by recent storms. After all, aren't we too feeling the stress rising? The aggression increasing? Sought alternative paths so we can cope with encroaching elements? 

In recent months, I've noticed the trend - and it's been increasingly troubling. More and more people feeling so out of control of their lives that the only way they can deal is to police everyone else. To hold tighter. To stifle. 

Stifle with words of condemnation and political correctness. Stifle with biblical "rightness" devoid of love. Stifle with pressure to conform and change the behavior of others. Stifle with manipulation disguised as compassion. Stifle with law in the absence of grace. And, with each judging word... with every instance that one change to fit the expectation of another... with all the spirit of negativity, hopelessness, and shame, those placed underneath it feel their breath being squeezed - the life leaving their spirit - the love being stripped right away. 

And, just like the moose, we turn on each other. Go into attack mode. The suppressed fighting back out of self-protection. The aggressors determined to win and be first instead of to love well. And the spaces close in and the togetherness shatters, and we are divided... split-up...left to survive in all storms alone. 

But... 

What does the state official say next regarding the people's response to the aggressive moose? 

"You may just have to wait. 

Be patient. 

Wait for the moose to leave the area.

And it may take some time..." 

Be patient. 

Yes. 

Patient when others aren't patient with you. 

Patient when some seem out to start a fight and all you want is peace. 

Patient when it feels like you will never see the calm after these storms and the serenity you long for is nothing but a dream. 

Patient when plans fall through and a part of you falls too and you are forced to remember that He holds you - always. 

And beyond patience... the waiting. The giving of space. The willingness to sit with the ever-changing moods of ourselves and others and let them pass. Because, maybe we're all a bit like the moose right now and if hurried or pushed, we just might break and become provoked. They're not the only ones who are willing to charge if instigated, after all. 

Sometimes I think we all feel as if we're responsible for each other's feelings. As if we have control over how we react and respond, and we forget that the only feelings we have any actual power to change are our own. We feel it's our duty to snap someone else out of their grief, their sadness, their madness and to force them back to where we feel they belong. 

Like the residents who are frustrated with the increased presence of the moose...

Yet all it does is elevate the blood pressure. Cause the driven to become more stubborn and attack back. Cause the stress of all to run high. All because we're not willing to give each other time. Give each other space. Realize that, unless our behavior is deeply harming others, it's okay to let one another have our moments...have our moods...have our room to grow and think things through without judgment or the need to be someplace other than where we are. 

And yes... it may take some time. 

It always does. Not storm, within or without, passes quickly. And sometimes you may be there awhile before the skies clear and the aftermath eases and the stress hormones calm and peace returns. But the key is giving both others and yourself all the grace in the world. 

Grace to be okay or to not be okay. 

Grace to have a good day or a bad one and still be loved anyway. 

Grace to roam and feel lost for awhile because the Good Shepherd is on the hunt and you will be found. 

Grace to be in different places in life and believe different things at different times and realize we're all changing and in progress and nobody has it "right" about anything. 

Living in grace means sometimes sitting and giving the gift of presence without a word. Living in grace sometimes means un-attaching for awhile and allowing each other the space to work things out. Living in grace means you'll be waiting a bit at times, watching another find their way...sometimes painfully so.

Because love never stifles. Never is out to prove its own "rightness." Never tries to force others into certain places or out of other spaces simply because we are uncomfortable and want to remain unbothered. Love doesn't provoke or unnecessarily pick a fight. Because love understands. Love leaves room for. Love has the time to let others take their time and not feel compelled to intervene. 

Recent months have brought their share of storms, and we're all tired. All weary. All struggling to figure out how to survive. So all the more reason to focus on being patient, giving grace, being willing to wait, giving things and people time. Leaving space and saying it's okay if we're all a bit displaced and dislocated and disrupted and disturbed. It won't be this way forever and God knows we all want to be friends and family at the end of all this! 

What a shame if we lost our most important gift - the gift of each other - all because a little stress and impatience got the better of us.