John writes, “We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.” (1 John 3:16)
In many ways this pandemic has shown me again and again that humans are, by and large, still essentially good people. We are willing to sacrifice quite a lot because we don’t want strangers to suffer. Some days in lockdown were really, really hard for me, but I would think of that goodness that was keeping us all united in our separateness—or separate for a united purpose—and to feel good, and know that others were good … well, it was good. So here’s a poem I wrote about our haphazard, messy way of doing the good, right thing during the last lockdown.
When this last lockdown
was first announced
my husband arrived home early,
went straight to bed,
and fell asleep.
Defeated
by the repetitiveness
of this feeling
of overwhelm
and the overwhelm
of this feeling
of repetitiveness.
This is the song
that doesn’t
ennnnnnd.
Until half an hour later
when he roused, rose, rallied,
and wearily took our son
to his last swimming lesson
for who knows how long.
That’s what we all do.
Haphazardly, groggily, often a bit late,
half-heartedly, resentfully, often in a state,
with perhaps too much telly and fights and take-away,
and definitely not enough self-compassion along the way,
we get it done.
That’s what we all did
when we’ve done this before
and that’s what we’ll do
unto the breach
once more. Ω
Reflect: What fruit of the spirit did you draw on to get through? Give yourself a pat on the back for all the ways you stuck with it, and give thanks for everyone else who stuck with it, too.
What is this? Lent is the 40 days, excluding Sundays, before Easter. Traditionally it is a time of reflection and pilgrimage. To help you on this journey, Sanctuary has put together 40 stories from people both within and beyond the congregation, with associated questions for reflection and prayer. A reading will be uploaded every day of Lent. This year’s theme is Fruit of the Spirit. Why? Read this. #Lent2022. Real People, Real Stories: 40 Readings for Lent © Sanctuary, 2022.
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