We will see the stars again

Do you ever wonder what we thought and talked about before Covid-19? I can hardly remember and it does feel as if it’s taking over our lives and potentially ruling our future. 

Right now it feels like the whole earth is groaning, shifting, and trembling under the pressures, the stresses and the fears. So much is unknown. It’s reminded me that I don’t have the control in my life and my little world that I tend to think I do. Crises and pandemics are good at that. Reminding us that the mirage of control we thought we had, was really just that. A mirage. An illusion. I’m grateful that I have placed my trust in the Creator of the universe. It gives me a bedrock of peace and certainty in the midst of so much chaos and uncertainty. Yet that doesn’t change the not knowing what tomorrow might bring. It doesn’t change the fact that we are potentially facing economic crisis which will in turn affect the entire world. Sometimes I think we get caught up in the stats of the economy in the west and forget that this directly impacts many people in the world. People who live day to day. People whose livelihood hangs directly on the demand of goods in the western world. People who don’t have savings to dip in to or even a bank account. People whose resources are limited and whose lives have never been easy or comfortable.

There are many good and popular quotes about only being able to see stars when it’s dark etc. Personally I like the thoughts of Dante when he writes of emerging from a journey through the horrors of hell, “thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.” I like that better. Because sometimes in life it gets so dark we can’t see the stars anymore. Either because we’ve lost the courage to look for them, or we’ve searched and came away empty. Disappointed and disheartened. 

That’s hard. 

There are a lot of people feeling and facing that right now. Before Covid-19, life wasn’t easy. There were hard diagnoses, tragic accidents, troubling health issues, complex family situations, unexpected deaths, sudden job losses, brutal wars, displaced families, and ongoing famines. These things don’t disappear just because a virus is messing with the planet. 

Covid-19 has only complicated the tough situations that many people were facing before it ever showed up.  A friend’s mom just passed away the other day. In the midst of viral panic and fear, my friend needs to plan a funeral. Those things were hard before corona ever came to bite. Now it’s even harder. 
I don’t like the things that Covid has snatched from us. I don’t like how much of life hangs in the unknown. I don’t like that other hard things don’t just go away and disappear when the next painful thing shows up. I wish difficulty didn’t compound. But it does. 

I’m going to hold onto hope. That one day, we will come forth and ‘rebehold the stars.’ Glorious moment that will be. 

Until then. 

Love a little more fiercely. Be defiant in the face of fear by finding laughter in today. Search for one good thing to be grateful for. Do an act of kindness on an unsuspecting person. Hold tomorrow loosely. We were only ever promised today. 

And if you are a believer, cling to Jesus like you never have before. He reminded us that our Father sees every sparrow that falls. He hasn’t missed this either. He sees. He cares. He knows. He is with you- even in the darkest of the dark. Even when it feels like you are walking through hell. God is still with you. King David knew that. Thousands of years ago he said in a prayer to God. “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.”‭‭ Psalm‬ ‭139:8‬ 
God is still with you. He hasn’t missed the dark, arduous times that you find yourself or those you love in. 

Hold on brave heart. Our Father is up to something. Something good.