We have lost much during the time of Covid-19. Loved ones, our jobs, some have lost entire businesses. We have been shut off from our friends, unable to hug or even shake hands, which for those of us who are huggers—is a big deal.
A lot of talk has been about what we can’t do and can’t have. There are no crowds at football games this fall. Our favorite restaurant is closed and will never reopen. And who knows when the church choir will ever sing together again! I don’t know why I continue to wear lipstick. It all ends up on the inside of a stupid mask that, yes, I am very tired of.
Yet, as I prune my big old boxwoods, I realize I am bringing forth new life. Every place I prune, two sprigs will come forth, and while we may have to wait a little longer, I believe we will see new growth in our lives as well. Many things will come back. The hugs, the crowds, the choirs and hopefully the restaurants. But some things won’t come back, and, perhaps that is God’s plan in all this. Just like pruning removes overgrown branches, and lets needed sunlight in to encourage new growth, so might we find a new path in our lives that is better than the old.
Being creatures of habit, we often suffer more pain, hardship and spiritual warfare than necessary during times like these. Not only is the pruning process resisted but we fight to hold onto those things that are already dead. We pray for a return of what we’ve lost and wait for a God-move, when in actuality God is waiting for us to move.
We have to look at our losses and say, “it is over.” These things might be gone, but I am alive. There is air in my lungs, I am—maybe more free than ever—to be who God wants me to be, to love and respect and care better for others than I ever have before. We have experienced loss. Now, let’s step out and experience the gains that are coming.
I bet some of those gains are already here,
Nancy
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