Many of us have felt helpless over the past year. First, as the numbers of people dying from Covid-19 kept climbing, we shut ourselves in, afraid even to say hello to a neighbor over a fence or across the street. Then we began wearing face covering but they only masked our fears of catching the dreaded virus.
Even with the vaccines which promise protection, we still aren’t so sure. Doctors tell us we’re protected even from the more virulent variants. We feel helpless as counties like India experience soaring infection rates and deaths. Even vaccinated, we wonder when all this will end.
Helplessness is a terrible feeling. We wonder how our ancestors dealt with plagues. Maybe they never lived with an illusion of control, something that many of us had in the past, something that we cherished. We’ve grown beyond an image of God as the Zeus of Disney’s Fantasia or even the God of the old Hebrew prophets. Our faith, however, tells us that God is with us in the bad times as well as the good ones.
Prayer for the Day
Holy One, we live in a time of uncertainty,
For we find that relying on only ourselves just doesn’t work;
We are afraid not only of the changing world around us
But of where our questions sometimes lead us.
Help us, merciful One, to be open to the unexpected,
For we feel adrift like boats without rudder on a vast and open sea.
In the name of him who lived to bring us hope,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Our hearts are bars of soap that we keep losing hold of; the moment we relax, they drift off and fall in love and get broken, all in the wink of an eye. We're not in control.
Fredrik Backman, Swedish novelist
You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all o he world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.
Michelle Obama
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my words,
Wondrously show your steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge . . .
Guard me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
Psalm 17: 6-8a.