Even the strongest storm eventually runs out of rain.
There's no need to even explain the situation that prompts this post because if you're a citizen of the world in 2020 you're experiencing the same isolation, frustration and perhaps fear as every other person on earth. I'm a week late mentioning Easter, but I found the following very timely, given our current state of existence. I share it in the hope you'll take it in the spirit it was intended. I wish you all health, safety and hope for a new world very soon.
That first Holy Week was likely a very disorienting time for the disciples of Christ. The death of their Lord probably rocked them to the core. And then, with Jesus' resurrection, the entire world was reoriented with a new reality and a sense of hope. Like those original disciples, this year's Holy Week has disrupted life as we know it. Our sense of control has been lost. As we hear daily about sickness and death, we're reminded that life is fragile.
And yet, this Easter, God has given us a chance to reorient our lives around that same sense of hope for the future. Let's not pray that "things get back to normal." Rather, let's reorient our lives around what is real, what is truly important, that life is a gift, and that every day is a treasure to be utilized for great purpose. Let us remember that the earthly relationships God has given us are precious and beautiful and fragile. Let's love the people we've been given to love today, not tomorrow. And let's say the important things in this moment, not assuming that we'll have another.
[Paraphrased from the beautiful Easter message by Pastor Jenny Smith, Mt. Carmel UMC, Frederick, MD, USA, April 12, 2020.]
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