WHEN A VIRUS REVEALS MORE THAN IT CAUSES
Perhaps this virus is revealing more than it is causing.
It has revealed our unhealthy dependence upon systems.
It has revealed the fragility of those systems which the rush of routine had masked.
It has revealed those who do not benefit from those systems, a discomforting thought that busyness allowed us to ignore.
It has revealed our compulsion to grasp at fragile, temporal constructs for something certain and stable--or, at the very least, distracting.
It has revealed just how much of our “surviving” rested upon coping tendencies that are no longer available.
It has revealed the deep-seated fears and questions that lurked behind the smokescreens of work, hurry, and the illusion of control.
And I am grieving at the sight of all that has been exposed in our world and my own heart.
But things that are revealed can finally be dealt with, and in dealing with them, other things emerge:
The hope-filled beauty of a bird’s song.
The childlike wonder at the sight of an opening bud.
The sighting of a hummingbird like the return of an old friend.
The simple delight of the sound of children’s play.
The deep joy of sharing out of my abundance to meet the need of another.
The realization that restraining myself to love another is the deepest kind of service.
The faith-strengthening power of real need met by miraculous provision.
The gentle invitation, almost a whisper amidst the panic and headlines, to pause, to rest, to be brave enough to stop grasping for the branches of normality and let the Current carry you instead.
A friend shared with me recently something Valerie Shepard, the daughter of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, wrote: “The silence of waiting is the crucible of our faith.”
A crucible - the container in which precious metals are melted down for purification and proving.
The waiting, the dread, the worry, the half-empty grocery shelves, the mandates, our high-risk loved ones, the sleepless nights - all a crucible, holding our hearts and minds and hopes and faith, revealing what was always there - not to destroy it but to refine and liberate.
Whatever your crucible is today, take courage.
The fire ultimately brings freedom.