{"id":3284,"date":"2015-03-01T05:00:16","date_gmt":"2015-03-01T13:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=3284"},"modified":"2015-02-28T14:06:56","modified_gmt":"2015-02-28T22:06:56","slug":"in-the-solemn-days-of-late-winter-a-word-from-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/writing\/in-the-solemn-days-of-late-winter-a-word-from-job\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Solemn Days of Late Winter, a Word from Job"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"maze<\/a><\/strong>It’s still winter, and most of our fun holidays are over. Valentine\u2019s Day, with its roses and chocolates and professions of love, was a couple weeks ago. And the feasting, dancing and intemperate drinking of Mardi Gras won\u2019t be back for another eleven-and-a-half months.<\/p>\n

For those of you who celebrate Chinese New Year, the frantic travel, little red envelopes, and endless feasting have come to an end.<\/p>\n

It looks like we’re in for a bit of a dry spell. Spring won\u2019t officially arrive until March 20th<\/sup>. And we won\u2019t be celebrating Easter with its colored eggs, baby chicks and Resurrection until April 5th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

\"moss<\/a>So here we are, caught in this downtime of late winter, covered over with clouds and moss and wrinkled brows if not snowbanks and icicles. For Christians, this is the solemn season of Lent, a time for prayer, penance, self-denial, and almsgiving. A few days ago on Ash Wednesday, some of us walked around with a smudge of ashes on our foreheads to remind ourselves that: \u201cThou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not a happy thought.<\/p>\n

And yet, we writers have to be concerned with all of life, the highs and lows and in-betweens. We can\u2019t always write about our fun-filled trip or that fantastic review of our novel or the wedding or graduation of a child or grandchild. (That’s what Facebook is for.)<\/p>\n

\"branches<\/a>Today, in recognition of the cold, solemn, gloomy days of late winter, I\u2019d like to share with you the words of Job, a man who didn\u2019t hesitate to complain about his troubles and the hardships of life. Here he is on one of his many bad days:<\/p>\n

Is not life on earth a drudgery,<\/p>\n

its days like those of a hireling?<\/p>\n

Like a slave who longs for the shade,<\/p>\n

a hireling who waits for wages,<\/p>\n

So I have been assigned months of futility,<\/p>\n

and troubled nights have been counted off for me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I lie down I say, \u201cWhen shall I arise?\u201d<\/p>\n

then the night drags on;<\/p>\n

I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.<\/p>\n

My flesh is clothed with worms and scabs;<\/p>\n

my skin cracks and festers;<\/p>\n

My days are swifter than a weaver\u2019s shuttle;<\/p>\n

they come to an end without hope.<\/p>\n

Remember that my life is like the wind;<\/p>\n

my eye will not see happiness again. (Job 7:1-7, New American Bible)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

For the better part of forty-two chapters, Job laments his troubles and argues with his friends and with God. Finally, near the end of the book, God speaks to him. He tells Job to gird up his loins like a man. \u201cWhere were you when I founded the earth?\u201d God asks. \u201cHave you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning?\u201d (Job 38:3, 4, 12)<\/p>\n

Like many of our favorite tales, Job\u2019s story has a happy ending. After seeing God with his own eyes, he disowns what he said and repents in dust and ashes. God forgives him and gives him twice as much as he had before. By the end of Job’s very long life, he has thousands of sheep, camels, oxen, and she-asses, not to mention seven sons and three beautiful daughters.<\/p>\n

If you’ve ever suffered from insomnia or skin problems or felt unhappy about the brevity of life, Job’s lament may strike a chord with you. Maybe you hang around people who grumble and gripe a lot. But in case the people you know hesitate to talk about the negative side of life and you feel alone with your troubles, remember, you can always read the Book of Job.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t forget, spring is just around the corner.<\/p>\n

\"lone<\/a>\"my<\/a>P.S. — I’m feeling fine. I just thought this may fit the season, especially for those of you who’ve had a long, hard winter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0It’s still winter, and most of our fun holidays are over. Valentine\u2019s Day, with its roses and chocolates and professions of love, was a couple weeks ago. And the feasting, dancing and intemperate drinking of Mardi Gras won\u2019t be back for another eleven-and-a-half months. For those of you who celebrate Chinese New Year, the frantic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[700,697,698,699,702,701],"class_list":["post-3284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-writing","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-book-of-job","tag-late-winter","tag-lent","tag-the-hardships-of-life","tag-thou-art-dust"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-QY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6208,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/art\/ring-in-summer-with-an-arts-fair\/","url_meta":{"origin":3284,"position":0},"title":"Ring in Summer with an Arts Fair","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"June 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Today is the Summer Solstice. 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