My cousin Jan, also a PCUSA pastor, has had a blog for years. She has had some particularly meaningful quarantine musings to share on her blog recently; and the other day she had a post entitled, That Moment When We Burst into Tears (click here to read her post). In it she says, “Sooner or later, we will burst into tears over this new normal…And those ugly cry moments are sacred. They mark the points when we realize we need something Bigger. We need each other. We need something Holy. We need eternal hope.”
The next day, The Today Show did a video montage (click here to watch) that lifted up those very things – our need for each other, our need for something Holy, and our need for hope; and I had “that moment when I burst into tears.” Now, to be fair, if you put any pictures or videos to music, I’m going to cry. It’s who I am. But the clips of folks all around the world stepping up to help each other out, to offer hope, to look for and create joy in an unbelievably difficult time – it was beautiful, and it was what I needed that morning and didn’t even know it.
In the midst of this strange, perhaps sacred, time of staying home I hope that you are able to find and create joy, to find and create hope, to find and create encounters that are holy; and when you do, I hope that you find a way to share them with others…even from a distance.
So sweet. I love these kind of stories. Thank you. Jan
ReplyDeleteDuring our middle school childrearing years, the kids gave me the moniker “Captain Obvious”, using it occasionally when I was expounding on what I judged to be a profound insight into the nature of reality relating to their intentions, motives, and/or behavior. To this day I’m not that sure of who was raising whom but, I still do carry that label in the back of my mind and often my observations and utterances confirm its presence. So……….
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to let you and Pastor Tim know how much we appreciate what you have done and are doing, both here and in real time. Most recently the wellness of my soul, which does not always feel that well, has been strengthened your posts which have shown me what some of the most hard-pressed warriors (and everyday people) are “doing and being” in the throes of this microscopic invasion. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it’s hard to tell how long the tunnel is but, you all are showing how to shed a little light in this darkness. Inspired by your charge to keep seeking out what is good and find a way to share it, I ran across this little poem which I hadn’t seen in many years.
A bell is not a bell till you ring it. A song is not a song till you sing it. Love in your heart isn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.” – attributed to Oscar Hammerstein II
Find a small step, and take action, share a thought, a feeling, a gratitude, an encouragement, a resource, a gift, whatever. Just ring that bell, even if it’s just a quiet little tap or a silent little prayer.
Thank you all,
Doug