It is so easy to reach for temporary solutions to difficult problems.  The trouble with temporary solutions is that they have a way of becoming comfortable, and permanent.  The original problem gets covered over and forgotten and the solution becomes accepted as normal.  Years ago when we moved into our home, we bought some “temporary” furniture at a Goodwill store.  When we moved out of that same house 35 years later, some of the original Goodwill stuff was still with us, still serving its “temporary” purpose.

On a larger scale, especially in the area of politics, things often slide into our culture as temporary solutions.  How many taxes are we living with today that began as temporary measures?  It may be far easier to mortgage our children’s future than it is to set national priorities and create a sustainable budget.  Even as individuals and families many of us find it easier to charge goods or borrow money than it is to take the financially tougher road to live within our means.

Finding permanent solutions to long-standing problems can be difficult because those solutions often seem unattainable.  In our parishes it is more tempting to buy a quick-fix program that promises to turn us into a vibrant parish community than it is to become disciples willing to pour out our lives for the love of Christ.  Concerning marriage, in the second half of life it can be easier to slide into the silent company of two individuals sharing a house than it is to nourish a growing relationship.

This season of life offers time to assess how we have lived our lives so far.  If we have spent too much time accumulating wealth (just until we have enough) or too much time in self-centered pursuits (we have been working so hard, we need to relax) or too much time following “shoulds” and “oughts” instead of fulfilling our deepest inner call, there is still time.  Life can be found in change and growth.  Seeing almost everything as temporary and few things as permanent can open new doors.

We are encouraged by scripture to seek and hold onto the few things of permanence that transcend life on earth.  In speaking of God’s gift of salvation the author of Hebrews 6:19 says: “We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul…..”  In Titus 1:9 St. Paul encourages his disciple to keep a firm grasp on the eternal message and to give up everything that does not lead to God. (Titus 2:12)

In “Sabbatical Journey,” the diary of his final year, Henry Nouwen wrote, “We are not talking here about moral obligations or ethical imperatives.  We are talking about the mystical life.  It is the intimate communion with God that reveals to us how to live in the world and act in God’s Name.”

We can become far too comfortable living with temporary solutions to deeper problems.   It’s better to seek the few things we know are permanent because now we more fully realize the life we keep holding on to so dearly is only temporary.