(Sigh)
There is too much to say. And frankly, none of us need to be reminded of these weighty times. All of us are carrying stress and strain and anxiety of what’s safe and what isn’t and how can we be together without hurting each other.
If pandemic was all there was, that would be enough. But then there is the great political divide. And while I always recognize a difference of philosophy, approach, and opinion, it’s really hard for me to grasp the support for those leaders who attempted to overthrow the government. I’m baffled at the support of a movement toward authoritarian rule. And my heart hurts at the organized effort to dismantle free and fair elections. And I am sickened by the undoing of reproductive rights of women, limiting access to a woman’s choice. And I’m grieved that our country still can not find a way to address our original sin of slavery and begin the needed work of repentance and restorative justice. And then there is the politicization of every single thing.
It is exhausting. So much.
I frankly don’t know what’s ahead. But I know love, grace, kindness, compassion. I know the way of Jesus. I will do everything I can to honor your understandings and hear your lived experience. And to honor the work of scientists who are working to help us overcome this horrendous disease. I am grateful for vaccines and how they save lives.
I am not a person without hope. I have seen God show up in ways unimaginable. When barriers kept us from being together, we found other ways to be together. When community didn’t look familiar, we redrew what community looks like. Time and time again, God has made a way, God’s children have made a way, neighbors have found a way to connect, to love, to serve, to be who we are as God’s beloved. We will find a way, together.
But if you’re as tired as I am, you're longing for a break. And then damn Omicron shows up. And today Betty White joins the ancestors in light. Not that I know Betty White. But it’s just one more thing.
If you’re like me this New Year's Eve, your spirit makes a deep sigh full of emotions you can’t wrap words around.
(Sigh)
So join me, in sighing into 2022, praying for better days ahead, and knowing with God’s help and with each other’s help too, we will make it.
*Photo from pre-pandemic times: Spring Fling 2015
