Reflection from your Co-Pastors - Tuesday, January 11, 2022
PERSEVERANCE
Here we are in 2022! We have lived through nearly two years with a new virus and it's variants. We have made adjustments to how we move around in the world. We have limited our freedoms. We have discovered that Church need not be confined to a building. We have suffered and mourned the illness and loss of loved ones. We have prayed without ceasing for our brothers and sisters near and far. We have become intimately acquainted with a teleconferencing software program called Zoom. And we have surely experienced many new “firsts” in these last two years.
Human experience is the story of perseverance. Throughout space and time humans have always persevered. We wouldn't be here otherwise. In Latin, the word perseverance means “one who sees through to the end,” “one who does not yield.” In English, it describes how we maintain our activity in spite of difficulties. Tenacity, steadfastness, persistence, doggedness--these are all common synonyms.
In our long, mysterious history, humans have had to struggle with enormous upheavals, dislocations, famines and fears. We've had to counteract aggression, protect our loved ones, and face the end of life as we've known it. Over and over again. As we continue to face the challenges and goals of this time, it might help to recall the centuries of solid shoulders we stand on. It's good to remember that we're only the most recent humans who have struggled.
Like Mary, let us follow the energy of “Yes!” as we work together to figure out how to make things better.
I am choosing the word “perseverance” to guide my steps in 2022. Simply staying on my path; showing up day after day no matter what; keeping on with my direction; finding my way back when I get lost or diverted; taking on challenges rather than avoiding them; and most importantly, knowing when to change, when to open up, and when to love…
This seems like enough success for a lifetime.
Reflect on your own life experience…
What else have you endured?
You're still here-- how did you stay here?
How have you come through rough times before?
What from your own personal history gives you now the capacity to get through this time?
Amen
(Parts of today's reflection are possible thanks to the book Perseverance, by Margaret J. Wheatley ---- Image by
J Garget from
Pixabay)
