Most of us Christians don’t know how to wait in pain — at least not in the contemplative, creative way that opens us to newness and growth. We’re told to “turn it over to Jesus” and — presto! — things should be okay.
But inside things usually aren’t okay. So on top of everything else, we feel guilty because obviously we didn’t really turn our pain over or else it wouldn’t still be with us. Or we decide that God wasn’t listening and can’t be trusted to deliver on divine promises.
How did we ever get the idea that God would supply us on demand with quick fixes, that God is merely a rescuer and not a midwife?
— Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits, p. 28