A Prayer in COVID Time

Lament is in the forefront of these days, O GOD, lean down and hear our cries:

It’s not just the trips we’ve had to cancel, but also the visits with loved ones that still can’t happen.

It’s not just the uncertainty of how long this isolation will go on, but also not knowing what will ever be again?

It’s not just the jobs and money that’s been lost, but also the friends and family this virus has stolen from us.

It’s not just the havoc of arranging childcare with everyone’s schedules askew, but also the lack of emotional energy needed to cope.

It is not just our current loneliness, depression and gloom but also, a winter that looks confining, dark and endless.

We no longer hear the songs arising from each other’s liberated hearts. 

We can’t hold one another in our arms, until the pain subsides.

We don’t visit over coffee with the friends we miss so much.

And so, we grieve. We ache. We wait. And we wonder…

How long, O LORD, will You forget us forever?

And yet, when we are very still, we know you are as close as breath,

and every day we walk in your handiwork.

We know our suffering here is miniscule when compared to those who have no access to medical care, no food in the cupboard, and little reason to hope for the coming of a new day.

So, come and sit with us here, Gracious One,

Still our fretting minds. 

Steady our anxious hands.

Soothe our angry spirits.

Heal our doubting hearts.

And remind us, O GOD, that nothing, not even COVID,

can separate us from your magnanimous love.      AMEN.

Could We Call Them Holy Days?

Sometimes when we stuff our turkeys or put up the Christmas tree, we forget that holidays are not just about our loved ones gathering and the family coming home for dinner.

Holidays are, in fact, intended to be HOLY DAYS.  And while this year, many will not experience the traditional gatherings (and we will indeed miss them), can we not still experience HOLY DAYS… 

Days of remembering WHOSE we are and WHY we are here,

Days of doing something that addresses needs in our community,

Days of being still and knowing that GOD is GOD?

When our traditional holidays look more like fasting than feasting, maybe we can see that lack as a challenge to reach deeper than our emptiness. We may not experience a holy, jolly Christmas this year. 

It never is when we are grieving.

Still, in this frigid winter of our isolation, we are invited into the PRESENCE that accompanies us, even in COVID time -especially in COVID time. And maybe, just maybe, we can call them HOLY DAYS this year.

— Bob and Mag

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