When the world stopped
smiling
Have you noticed that when people
wear a mask, they stop smiling? Keeping our distance is foreign to us. It’s hostile.
This nasty little virus (COVID-19) has succeeded in making international
enemies, presidents to bump heads and make rash decisions. It’s drained the
economy and the International Monitory Fund and, during the first round,
brought out the worst in us …. hogging all the toilet paper…. shame on us.
Like a raging fire, out of control,
this virus quickly spread across the globe.
Somehow, somewhere, from this devastation,
little messages of hope are emerging. Nature is getting a chance to recover.
The sky is no longer rumbling with crisscrossing airlines, highways are
sedated, people are waiting for their turn. We’re learning to minimise and make-do
with what we’ve got. We’re realising that health-care providers are human after
all, and many have put their own safety on hold to care for strangers. Many
have succumbed to the virus.
It’s been a very different Lent,
and it will be a very different Easter. For a change, we can turn to the
suffering of thousands who have been victims of this pandemic. We can pray for
their families and their protection. We can pray for our leaders to make wise
and informed decisions before leading their people astray.
During this quiet time, I’ve had
the chance to look through family photo albums and thank My Maker for the
wonderful opportunities I’ve had in my life. My incredible family and wonderful
friends. I’ve re-read anthologies I’ve written over the last 40 years about
books I’ve enjoyed, with interesting quotations. Diaries, letters, articles I
have penned over the years.
Like green shoots that push their
way through charred forests after devastating fires, and lives that are pieced
together after families once lost everything they owned, the world will
recover. It will take time and more than a vaccine. It will mean making
sacrifices, working hard, learning to give and not always to take, to give
back, and yes, to pray. Quite simply and without religious paraphernalia. A
simple prayer between you and Your Maker is all that takes.
Try it
sometime.
Picture from alamy.com
