Wednesday, April 29, 2020


HOPE
While watching the news on television, it is easy to get depressed. The world is in such a dreadful place right now as the numbers of the sick and the dead grow daily. The pandemic has us all in its grip and seems unwilling to let go. But it will. It has to.
            Why? Because even in our darkest hour we must not forget that this too shall pass. I was reminded of that truth while walking around the lake where I live. The buds on the trees are now clearly visible and they sing their ode to the newness that spring brings. In a very few short weeks the leaves on the trees will be totally open and May flowers will have burst into the brilliant colors we might have begun to believe would never reappear. But they will be there as they have always been every spring. 
            I remember my mother saying how afraid she and all those around her were during the dark days of the Second World War. While communications were far from being as sophisticated then as they are today, people listened to the radio every day for news from the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific. I am sure newscasts then must have been as, if not more, upsetting than those we experience in our current crisis especially for those who had loved ones at the front.
            Each generation seems to face a disaster of one stripe or another. In our current one, while we might be worried about family and friends we can’t see in person, we are so very fortunate to have means of seeing and conversing with them with our various devices. They are just a click away, aren’t they? It should make us all grateful that we have rays of love in the darkness.
            Our modern communications also means that we can easily be there to help with donations for those who are hurting due to a lack of funds. And also to express our gratitude and love to the frontline workers risking their own health by taking care of all those who need attention.  While we may never be able to fully repay them, we will always remember their courage in giving us hope.
            Hope, the world’s quiet faith.