When this is over, you and I will look back and wonder how on earth we made it through such an unprecedented time in our lives. We are still shaking our heads, aren’t we?
Questions race unchecked across the forefront of our minds; questions like these: “How did we get here? Where did this come from? Will this happen again? Will this happen again soon? How quickly will there be a vaccine? How can I cope with the pain of loss? Will life ever be the same again?”
And, along with the questions, we are forced to face the realities—life moments have been lost.
I think of the high school senior who has lived since she was a little girl imagining the night she would go to prom with her Prince Charming. (Life moment lost.) I consider the mom who birthed that baby boy, and knew one day she would sit in the audience to proudly watch him walk across the stage, and accept his university degree. (Life moment lost.) I picture the dad who pitched a baseball, year in and year out, to a hopeful lad in the backyard, and anticipated the night his son would take the mound for the College World Series (Life moment lost.) I ache with the parents denied the privilege to be near their only daughter as she gave birth to her firstborn. (Life moment lost.) And I grieve to consider the granddaughter who never missed a family gathering, and yet was forced to bid farewell to her beloved grandfather through the chill of a cold a computer screen. (Life moment lost.)
And, as we acknowledge the loss of life passages, you and I willingly admit that our upside-down life has nudged us to get a number of perspectives right-side-up again. These come to mind: With a fresh tenderness, we acknowledge that life is a gift, and …life is a vapor. Health is an unspeakable treasure. Relationships sweeten our sojourn, and going to work is an absolute privilege.
So, while we prepare to walk out from under the smothering blanket of COVID-19, we will never fully walk away from it. COVID-19 stories, lessons, memories, and heartaches have been woven into the fabric of our society, and into the fabric of our souls. We are different; we are forever altered.
An entirely different blog post was prepared for this week, but somehow the Holy Spirit brought me back to my computer to start over. My rewrite flows out of a desire to stop at this moment, and express gratitude to you, dear reader. Thank you. Thank you for being here to journey with me. I needed you, and you have brought light to my life in the darkness of a pandemic. I savor the treasured fact that you and I have partnered together in an unprecedented time in history.
Now,
Where Do We Go From Here?
We move forward Living With Eternal Intentionality® into the future that God has for us. For only in our Living With Eternal Intentionality do hard questions find their answers, and lost moments discover their redemption. Indeed, only in Living With Eternal Intentionality do you and I lay hold of a reason for living at all. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3).
Yours for Living With Eternal Intentionality - I love you, Debby Mark 12:28-30
