By the Rev. Bob Ullman
When I was a child growing up in rural southern Illinois, I was blessed with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables from our large garden, grape arbor and apple trees. As various crops ripened, my mother would “put up” provisions for the coming winter. One of our favorites was her strawberry preserves. After we had had our summer fill of fresh strawberries in various forms, savoring her bright red strawberry preserves would lend a touch and taste of summer to the long, cold winters. Over time, however, we learned that after a couple of years on the shelf, the original brightness of the preserves began to fade and the taste wasn’t quite as fresh as it had been when she originally put up the preserves.
In these post-pandemic days, many of us may be longing to return to what we thought had been preserved by tradition and practice from pre-pandemic days. It is tempting to want to return to what had once seemed savory and delicious from seasons past. But what we’re discovering in these once-again-uncertain days is that what’s needed is perseverance and persistence for the long haul to come.
Throughout these days living with and emerging from pandemic upheaval, we have been guided by the work of Kate Davies in her book “Intrinsic Hope: Living Courageously in Troubled Times.” In it, she has guided us in practices to uncover and nurture intrinsic hope – that guiding force that lies deep within each of us. Practices of:
- Being Present
- Expressing Gratitude
- Loving the World
- Accepting What Is
- Taking Action
As we come to the end of her book – and the beginning of the end of pandemic disruption – we are faced with a call to her final practice: Persevering for the Long Haul. Actually, it is something we have been engaged in from long before the pandemic. Persevering for the Long Haul has been the work of the Church from the very earliest days. However, the difference between preservation and persevering requires openness to the road before us, not the road behind us, a trust that a way forward is being created even in the midst of these days.
Davies highlights six components that contribute to Perseverance:
- Resilience: An ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. (We heard the word “pivot” throughout the pandemic.)
- Curiosity: An openness to what we haven’t seen yet or, as Richard Rohr calls it, “beginner’s mind.”
- Long-term thinking: Considering, as many Indigenous people do, the effect of our actions on the seventh generation from now.
- Self-discipline: Managing ourselves and our responses before trying to manage others.
- Self-care: Looking after ourselves by recognizing our limits in any situation, or “putting on your oxygen mask before trying to help someone else.”
- Celebrating Good News: Taking a few moments at the end of each day to review the day and identify at least one thing or event to celebrate.
This Eastertide as we approach Pentecost, the day that the Church found new life and a Spirit-led way forward, we return to the guidance of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also set aside every weight and the sin that easily distracts, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2
In the words of spiritual mentor Steve Garnaas-Holmes, “Resurrection is not a happy ending, but a new beginning.” Or in the words of Lao Tzu, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” The way forward begins with that next step, and the step after that and the step after that and so on, persevering for the long haul.
Questions to Ponder
1. What helps you put one foot in front of the other?
2. Which of Kate Davies “steps” or components for persevering for the long haul do you try to practice?
3. Which do you find most helpful? Which do you find challenging?
4. What can we offer one another to persevere for the long haul?
