There are days.
There are days when it feels like the rain just won’t stop. Like the wind is blowing and the leaves are howling, like the sound of the cold droplets keep beating on my old pane glass windows. It’s cold. It’s damp. I don’t like the outside right now.
There are days when I have to cancel future plans because the world outside is telling me it’s not ok. The days where everything was normal seem like a distant past that my children will only ever hear about. Today, I cried a little when I realized my littlest child probably won’t remember much of the world before we had to follow orders and protect ourselves from unseen germs. My heart aches.
The stores are lined with masking tape of different colors. “Stand here. Stay there. Distance yourselves.” The signs hanging on shelves and windows and boxes preach at me. My neighbor passed me in the cereal aisle; she didn’t know it was me.
Family business is on the verge of bankruptcy. The news people tell them they might have to shut their doors again if they don’t control this thing. This living, breathing silent giant that feels like it’s living on my doorstep.
Yet Hope remains.
In the quiet moments of our little home, nestled in the midst of woods, I see the deer wander peacefully by. They’re un-phased by the altered world around them. No fear of a virus day-or- night. I listen as the ducks land quietly on the pond. They rest. They float in patterns with nothing more than a moment’s thought. The trees toss in the wind as they did last year at this time. Though they seem to be sorrowful, waving their sadness with their limbs in weeping motion.
Yet Hope remains.
Every day brings different news. Pre-holidays, post-election, mid-pandemic…it’s as if we all hold our breathe until the next change finds us (or the other shoe drops.) The seasons have now shifted from fall to winter. The leaves have fallen in line with their natural order, and somehow the impending holidays keep us on the verge of our human order. What will they look like this year? Already filled with so much uncertainty.
Yet Hope remains.
I only voice what many feel. Often I feel numb to the rhythm of change that has become our routine. One thing is certain, though ‘the grass withers and the flowers fade…”, I know that my faith lies in a hope much bigger than myself. Though the walls around me crumble…the world outside my cozy room feels confused and constricted. I am hopefully for the harvest. We must remain with the greatest of commands and choose them daily for peace and sanity in these tumultuous times. “These three remain, Faith, Hope, and Love…” May we echo these traits in our changing seasons and hold strong to unwavering Hope. For I believe, my Friends… The Best is Yet to Come.
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