Seeds of Grace

All spring we watched the farmers round us plough the soil and plant the seed. It sprouted and has been growing. One crop of silage has already been harvested and the second is growing.

The year of the virus, the pandemic, has ploughed the fields of our expectations. It has stirred up the complacencies of ‘same old same old’ and overturned the settled-ness of our approach to life. I know that I never foresaw a time when I would be prevented from hugging and holding my precious children and grandchildren. I never imagined I would not be able to board a plane and visit my Mom, unless it was because I couldn’t afford the ticket. Not that when I got there, I would not be allowed in to hug and hold her.

Others imagined they would be donning graduation caps and gowns and enjoying being feted after years of hard work. Others planned their weddings, bought the dresses, sent out invitations. Others booked holidays. Others planned still to be alive at the end of the year: plans cut short by virus and violence.

We all sowed into 2020 and expected a return.

Those expectations have been ploughed up, broken. We have had time to rest, perhaps, dormant and shielded from regular activities, and my prayer is that during this time seeds are taking root, seeds which will bring about change. Change maybe in our individual circumstances, if change is needed. New ways of working, new ways of relating to other people, new priorities. Change for the better, growing out of upheaval and misery. Change certainly in our social circumstances, so that racism is called out wherever it skulks and all people can expect an equal chance, equal opportunities, equal respect. New criteria for honouring people of the past, new horizons for people of colour, new mindsets for those whose perceptions have been warped by tradition or conditioning or fake news.

May seeds of grace grow tall and strong under the warmth of our Saviour’s love. May 2020 segue into the year of change, the year of opportunity, the year where some dreams died but others were born and began to grow, heralding a new era for this sad and weary world.