Tackling Impatience by Thinking of the Egg

Something that I have struggled with in the past (and still do sometimes) is waiting for a result. There is often a huge tendency to control and overthink and go into anxiety. It has been a difficult one to tackle since it has come up multiple times.

It’s like waiting for an egg to hatch. It doesn’t matter if you have been patient and calm for the first several weeks if in the last week you start poking the egg with a hot stick. The hot stick has the capacity to destroy the chick and stop it from ever hatching. Even if it does hatch, the chick would likely have suffered irreversible damage due to all the poking.

This analogy serves as a gentle reminder that nature cannot be forced. Sometimes things take longer than expected but don’t ruin the progress by trying to control things and mess with God’s ways. Sometimes there is just nothing that you can do and sometimes even if there is, you shouldn’t actually do it. Have trust that whatever is the outcome, you will be able to face it in due time.

Think of a pregnant mother. Of course she wants a healthy baby. But she is never going to know for sure until the baby is actually born. There is nothing she can do about that, despite modern ultrasounds. She might have been given a due date but sometimes the baby doesn’t want to come out for a week or two. Of course she is going to feel impatient. But there is nothing she can do about it. The ways of nature have to be respected.