A Lenten Treasure Hunt: First Clue

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.” Matthew 5:5

Labor Day was around the corner, and I was excited to be spending the weekend at the beach. I had been counting down the days until Friday. At three on the dot, I ran out of the office. I drove home at record speed, and as soon as I got there, I grabbed the bags which I had left packed since the morning. Penny, my miniature schnauzer, was just as excited as I was. She jumped into the back seat of the car, and we drove to my husband’s office to pick him up. We then headed towards the beach. Traffic was bad on the highway, but we did not care. We had a whole weekend of relaxation ahead of us. Unfortunately, a few hours later, I was in the emergency room with a broken wrist.

When we arrived at the beach apartment, my hubby decided to go get groceries for the weekend, while I unpacked. Once I finished unpacking, I put the leash on Penny to take her downstairs for a walk. She gets so excited when she sees her leash that she does not walk; she runs. She was pulling me as fast as she could towards the elevator. I was practically running behind her, and my flip-flop caught on a plastic strip that was on the floor separating the old carpet that was about to be replaced from the marble floor in the elevator foyer. I flew through the air, hit my head against a metal door, and landed on my wrist on top of the marble floor. I knew I had fractured it as soon as I felt the excruciating pain. I have fragile bones, and I have broken many throughout the years, so I have become a sort of expert at recognizing the pain caused by a broken bone. Even though I was a little dizzy from the bump in my head, I managed to reach my mobile which had gone flying in the opposite direction. I called my hubby and told him to leave the groceries behind. He had to take me to the hospital. 

I got on my feet and managed to return to the apartment with a confused Penny in tow. By this time, my wrist had already doubled up in size. I knew that I had to ice it fast. Once I settled myself on the sofa with my wrist wrapped in ice, waiting for my hubby, I realized that aside from the pain, I was angry. My plans for the weekend had been ruined by a dumb fall. My anger was directed towards the building, which had not clearly marked the obstacle on the floor that had caused me to fall. At that moment, I did not think that I could have been controlling Penny better and therefore going slower. I had to blame someone, and I was already mentally preparing myself for a lawsuit against the building. Obviously, they had been negligent, and I had every right to be upset.

The virtue of meekness helps us to overcome the sin of anger or wrath. On the day that I broke my wrist, meekness was the farthest thing from my mind, especially when I found out that I needed surgery. After spending four hours in the emergency room, I was beyond myself with impatience, and I was full of anger.

In our daily lives, we are going to find ourselves in situations of conflict. It is easy to react with violence or anger. But when we accept the reality of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ, and we trust the Holy Spirit to help us, we can be gentle and meek in the midst of conflict. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.”[1] Jesus showed true meekness when the soldiers scourged Him, tortured Him, and eventually, killed Him. Instead of getting angry and feeling resentful, He prayed for them. We need to learn to love everyone, especially those that we dislike, if we want to find true happiness in this life. The virtue of meekness grants us the ability to forgive and to show mercy to those that have sinned against us. 

The first clue that will lead us to the treasure is: Instead of getting angry during conflict, be gentle and meek. In this first week of Lent, let’s replace anger with meekness. 

I had surgery to repair my broken wrist five days after my fall. In those five days, I was able to calm down and reflect on my lack of meekness. When I met with the surgeon, the first thing that he asked me was if I was going to file a lawsuit against the building. By that time, I had already decided that I was not going to create a conflict in the building where I spent most of my weekends. Instead, I let them know what had happened to me so they would take the necessary measures to prevent it from happening to someone else. And I later found out that if I had told the doctor that I was going to file a lawsuit, he would not have accepted me as a patient. Since he turned out to be a great surgeon, it was a good thing that God led me to making the right decision by fertilizing me with a sprinkle of meekness. Many of the people that I met during my three months of therapy had horror stories to share because of bad surgeries. Many had been in therapy for longer than a year. I, on the other hand, had full mobility on my wrist in just three months. Other than a thin scar on my wrist and a titanium plate attached to my bone, I’m as good as new. Meekness saved me from a long litigation process and possibly a permanent damaged wrist as I was able to witness firsthand in other patients.

[1] New American Bible Revised Edition, Matthew 5:5