“The Big Picture” [Reflections on Ralph D. Sawyer's Translation of One Hundred Unorthodox Strategies - Battle Tactics of Chinese Warfare # 67-68]
In sieges, armies in and out
Must make assessments, deal with doubt
About time-factors in the mix,
Lest one (or both) be in a fix.For strength, and tools, and numbers too,
Have “Best before” dates, when they lose
Or gain effect for either side;
A dance indeed – attack or ’bide –Your time and let the clock play out?
What of the changes all about?
For both sides of equation now,
Choice must be made, selecting how –Things could play out (that’s “Odds” again);
No certainty in war – the same
As in all life – the timing’s key
To how one deals with what one sees.Lord, once again, when flipped around,
And engage the evil ground
Entrapping people – Jubilee
Has timing factor, now I see.For when it’s best to wait things out;
Hold back, withstand, watch ’round about – him
Something emerges – all things change;
For tides come in, new leader’s named.Like dad once said, an awful church
Can change quite fast, as death will lurk
Unseen within the group; new face
Can shift the tone, new hope embrace.Sometimes the seeds of hope we plant
Make crops which flourish and supplant
The older stocks of food stored up,
And hopelessness has home-made luck.This also speaks of what You do
As we abide and work in You –
For satan can move fast or wait,
Which You take in, for Goodness sake.Lord, help us ’bide in You and wait;
Not our good fortune here forsake,
Especially when the speed You choose
Conflicts with ours (where we would lose).Thanks for the opportunities
To love with patience, moments seize,
As well as wait for love’s effects,
When harvest time’s not come here yet.Thanks Lord for this.
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