Again, I’m going to comment on the light. It is what I
notice most mornings.
I notice that as the sun rises low on the horizon, it glows
through the bare branches of the acer tree, casting their shadows on the wall
of the house. The pattern on the wall is only there in winter, when the sun’s
rays outline the skeleton of the tree.
During the dark days of this pandemic, many are stressed,
challenged to play roles they never trained to do, expected to stimulate young
minds or stretch fewer pennies or deal with bereavement alone. It is not just the
climate’s season of winter, but there is a winter of social interactions, where
many feel they are stripped down to bare bones. I see a younger generation
rising to the challenge, and as I look at my own kids and the way they are
handling the dramatic constriction of horizons and disappointment of dreams, I
see the light of God shining through them and casting a shadow in places his
light might otherwise not reach.
If I were rolling out the vaccines, I would prioritise young
and middle-aged people, especially those who must continue to interact with a
possibly-infected world. Not just the key workers in hospitals and care homes,
but also the teachers, the grocery store checkers, the sanitation workers. My
generation has the option of holding back, where theirs still needs to earn a
living, school children, build a future.
But I am not rolling out the vaccines, so I want to
celebrate those younger than my generation of retirees, those who continue to
parent obstreperous children trapped inside small apartments, those who
continue to struggle with home-schooling while fearful of letting their
children down, those who continue to risk their health daily in order to keep
buses and trains running, supermarkets well-stocked, chemists open. Through your
pared-down lives I see the love of Christ shining, casting his shadow – his promise
– of hope and tracing his fingers of grace and love. If I were to dare to speak
any words of advice, it would be not to judge yourselves too harshly: put all
your expectations in God, and he will carry you through.
God bless all those who face another day of angst and
pressure. Grace and peace.
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