Words of
Encouragement & Hope
Submitted by Rev. Rick Walker
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Depending on when you start counting, we’ve been living with this pandemic crisis for eight months now: first instances of the virus in North America were apparently in January; if we count from when it started to dramatically impact our lives, many of us would start in mid-March when restrictions like hospital visitation began.
Depending on to whom whom you listen, [Do not let me get started on that issue!] “they” say we have as much as eight months (or more) of significant social impact yet to live through: is there anyone among us who has not already said some version of, “Enough, already!” How can we possibly face this much time again?
Some of us came here to get away from Winter in the North; some of us came here to get away from hurricanes in the South; some of us came here to be near family members; I doubt that any of us came for 145 days of 100 degree+ heat: I suspect that all of us also chose this area for the activities and quality of life we enjoy here.
Being told to “Stay Home & Stay Safe” is prudent from the perspective of mitigating the devastation of the Coronavirus; face-masking and social distancing are wise from the perspective of protecting ourselves and others: yet, we have to deal with the daily horror of isolation that can often seem worse than the pandemic itself.
When we find ourselves thinking – or even saying, “I can’t take this anymore,” it may be helpful to remind ourselves of an essential fact of life: one of the principle insights of the Recovering Community is that we can only live One Day at a Time: we cannot relive either the recent or distant past; we cannot live what we think might happen either in the immediate or distant future.
We do not have to handle the Pandemic for another eight months: in fact, we cannot; our only option is to handle it one day at a time, to handle it today, each day. And the Recovering Community has learned that sometimes – when the going gets tough – instead of living one day at a time, we can just ask ourselves to get through one hour at a time, or even a shorter period.
The cliches are true; they become cliches because they express timeless realities:
“The past is like a blank check; the future is like a promissory note;
only today is like cash in hand: the only day we can actually live is today.”
I invite you to pray these words from Reinhold Niebuhr:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can.
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Your brother in Christ,
Rick Walker
