Raise your hand if you’ve had it with this pandemic.  

Honestly (or dare I say “Honest to God”), we over a year in and the waves keep coming, vaccine distribution is on the fritz, hospitals are overflowing and the death toll keeps rising.  And, oh yeah, now there is a more contagious variant on the move.

Enough already!  Why does that light at the end of the tunnel keep shorting out?  

If you are among those who’ve had it (and I’m betting that’s everyone), it is important to remember that this pandemic isn’t who we are.  We, like so many who have gone before us in history, will see the tide turn.  

From the Hebrew slaves languishing in slavery in Egypt and their subsequent exile in Babylon in the Old Testament, to Christians in the New Testament awaiting the Second Coming of Christ, there is no shortage of faith-stories of people waiting, praying, enduring, and hoping for longer than they wanted.

The bible encourages us to take the long view of things.  That really doesn’t compute with us today, though, because we live in a I-want-it-and-I-can-have-it-right-now society.  When you are accustomed to same-day delivery, this pandemic is truly an eternity.

But there is still value and wisdom in that long view.  It reminds us that we need to slow down to a walk more often than we do in our lives.  It reminds us that we are part of a bigger picture; one in which we play a part, yes, but it’s not all about us.  It reminds us that it is we who belong to God and not the other way around.

It is what we do and how we are in the long view of things that matters.  I saw a yard sign the other day that said: “Compassion is not Quarantined”.  And that’s true.  Compassion and kindness are the wings that will carry us through these challenging days.  Without them, we will surely fall.  

The long view doesn’t just ask us to endure.  It asks us to dig down deep and live from our best selves no matter the circumstance.  It asks us to remember that every crucifixion moment in life is followed by a resurrection whether it seems like it or not.

So, yes, it is okay to be at the end of your rope with all of this.  I know I am (you can probably tell!).  But whether the journey is pleasant or treacherous, it is who we decide to be each day that makes life worth living.

In Christ,

–Rev. Dominic