How Long?

Wild winds continue to pummel trees and flowers for the second day in a row. The primroses are losing colour before my eyes, reds turning brown. Parrot tulips we were admiring two days ago are worn with the constant barrage, petals beginning to drop before their time. Climbing rose and clematis, inadequately supported, whip up and down against the windows. Still the winds blow, relentlessly.

Upstairs, Mhairi struggles with technology. Website hosting, internet connections, all critical to her work. With grace which must come from God, she speaks calmly to the help desk, having waited an hour on hold, and tries to get things working again. It seems that as soon as one problem is fixed, another issue arises.

Wild winds buffet so many throughout this pandemic world. Unemployment. Lack of child care for working parents whose jobs are essential. Loneliness. Abuse. Empty banks and empty kitchen cupboards. Deadly disease. Uncertainty over the future. How do we come out of this lock down safely?

How long, Lord? How long? You are the Almighty, Creator God, and to you we cry out for mercy, for help. In you we trust, for you we wait. You are our faithful God, and you are our hope and our salvation. We look to you for strength, for steadfastness, for peace.