Still waiting ...

Following yesterday’s post on waiting, I read this great quote, in Eugene Peterson’s book ‘The Jesus Way’ (the same Eugene Peterson who brilliantly translated the bible into an instantly understandable version called ‘The Message’).
He says this, about waiting for God to do something for us, to move us on when we’re stuck or helpless, explaining that if we are on the way to God, the process is important, not just the destination: 'We wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies. Waiting for the Lord is a large part of what we do on the way, because the largest part of what takes place on the way is what God is doing, what God is saying.'
That first phrase struck me: 'We wait for our souls to catch up with our bodies', because it can feel like the other way round. Someone recovering from an operation, for example, might feel that their soul is impatient to be up and out and getting on with life, while their body, with limited mobility after surgery, won’t keep up with their soul’s demands.
But I think Eugene Peterson is probably right. The body runs ahead of the soul, a lot of the time, rushing into situations where the soul would prefer not to go, ignoring the inner stirrings of unease or pleas for peace.
And if body and soul are out of sync, sooner or later the body’s normal life grinds to a halt, to give the soul a chance to catch up, reclaim the time it needs and accept the grace God offers to deal with the circumstance. It’s a chance for body and soul to work together to use the unwelcome limitation gracefully and rebuild strength, physically and spiritually.
It would be easier, if it was the other way round - if our body only had to catch up with our soul. The soul, responsive to God, would be far less demanding and would set a far gentler pace for body and soul, free from the pressure to succeed on everyone’s terms except God’s. It would force the body to live at a pace that suited it spiritually, with body and soul working in harmony under the directorship of God - exercised, rested, challenged and stretched, to grow and ‘rise up on eagle’s wings’ above all kinds of circumstances.
But as it is, the body sets the pace, until it comes up against its own limits. And, waiting on God, there's a time when the body can't help itself or force itself to go any further, until the soul has a chance to catch up.