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| Unfiltered photo of heart cloud at sunset. |
Are we okay?
The 'we' I mean is the broad scope of human relationships that have been strained to the max by the necessary distance forced upon us these past long, world's-gone-crazy months.
I'm feeling it.
My youngest grandson just turned one and, compared to the others at the same age, he barely knows me. That sits as a sadness in my chest, even as I patiently and intentionally take the opportunities to win him over now. We're getting there, but it's not quite okay yet.
Another sadness. There are kids growing up way too fast on the other side of the world, and I'm missing out in ways unreclaimable. A few of our children have come to our Hot Springs family since I was there last. I don't even know them yet. They have no experience of me. This isn't okay. And neither is the growing ache to simply be with Suradet and Yupa; to laugh with, grieve with, dream with together in the same place. Not okay.
We can gather now, here at home, as a faith community, and this is very good. Yes, so very good. And also, no hugging. And this is not okay. And neither is it okay that our COVID-weary selves sometimes get the better of us and we end up saying things or responding to things said that aren't really about whatever was said at all, but about our fears that things have changed and that maybe we don't belong now, or whatever other insidious fears have bubbled up since this all began. And perhaps the long loneliness we experienced when we were all shut up in our homes was the true reflection of our worth, which is why we are so desperate for social affirmations now that we can be together, even without the hugging. Nothing feels okay without the hugging.
And what about what we've found out about each other's positions on all that was never a thing before but is suddenly so important and 'out-there', now that we're supposed to wear masks and get vaccinated? What about the trusted, life-long friends who are suddenly on the other side of what seems like a very dangerous fence, no matter what side of that fence we might think is the safe one? Are we actually going to call each other names now? Is that okay?
See why I'm asking?
Are we okay?
Speaking to different but equally contentious relationship-straining topic, Paul reminded the Galatian church that "the only thing that matters is faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6). The people there were rather entrenched on their own sides of what seemed to them a very dangerous fence. Dogma was the actual threat, and falling into a way of thinking that stood firm on "us and them" instead of "we".
Are "we" okay? Can "we" do this together?
Can we make unity the priority over being right? Can we leave room for an opposing opinion to be considered? Can we refuse to gossip or belittle? Can we seek first to understand before being understood? Can we stop and have the conversations before making the declarations? Can we refrain from losing our tempers and instead let grace temper us?
I'll go further here. I'm vaccinated. If you're not, I respect you. I don't have to agree with you to love you and accept you. I hope you'll do the same for me.
We dare not see each other as the enemy, else the real enemy wins.
There is more of this journey ahead my friends. We will need each other badly if we are to survive and thrive and be "more than conquerors through Him who loved us." That's Paul again, who - oh wait! - also reminds us that "we" do not do this alone in our human efforts. Like a heart-shaped cloud that shows up at sunset at the same moment I'm pondering these painful things.
So a prayer for us as we reach out and hold on to each other. (I'm hugging you as I pray this.)
Father God, we invite you into all the relational strangeness here with us. Please. Be fully present in the spaces between us to hold us together in this time when we are pulled apart by so much. Draw us toward You in peace and humility. Collect us together under Your wings of grace. Shape us into Your image to declare Your faithfulness and love across the sky. Be everything we need that You are and we are not. We need You. Amen
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