Further Notes From Limbo

It has been a year now since we went into lockdown.  That is when our lives entered Limbo.  The land where nothing is certain, things are "in between", and we don't know when, or IF, we'll ever see "normal" again.

In this Limbo time, I have lost friends, neighbors, acquaintances, library customers, to the economic realities of this time as well as to the virus.  My husband lost his job, and even though he now qualifies for disability assistance, we are still in Limbo as far as our finances are concerned.  

Even  Church has changed; we worship online and cannot sing in church in these contagious times.  More and more people are getting vaccinated, so we are hoping that things will change soon, but still, the frustration and the isolation continue.

The staying home hasn't been as hard for me as for some of my more extroverted friends.  I do, however, still get to go to work, I am no longer "trapped" here 24/7.  I get to see and interact with other live humans in person; if spaced six feet apart most of the time, and always, always masked.

We have at last the opportunity to participate in the Wednesday evening forums during Lent at the Cathedral.  Usually, we are in choir rehearsal, and unable to attend the discussions.  This one is based around Kate Bowler's book Everything Happens For A Reason And Other Lies I've Loved . It is an appropriate book for Lent, dealing as it does with her experiences being diagnosed with and treated for colon cancer.  It further focuses on how we deal with loss, with the chaos wrought in our lives by the bad things that inevitably happen, and how those affect our faith.  

I keep thinking some great, transformative event is on the horizon, and most of me thinks it will be a good one.  It won't be further cataclysm, it will be a resolution, a welcome return to working together and getting things done that need doing.  There will be more loss, and some will have to give up their "high horses" in order to participate in the doing of needful things, but coming together and doing these things will save us all.  We will care for the sick and wounded of spirit, we will fill the hungry with good things, we will visit the prisoners, and free those unjustly confined.  We will provide for the common good, for all people to have decent recompense for honest labor, to have dignity and safety in their persons and in their homes, there will be shelter for all in need of it.  We CAN do these things, if we realize that we have to do it together, all of us, remembering that there is more than enough to go around, and Christian, if you really ARE a Christian, in your heart you KNOW this is what Jesus wants you to do.  You have to stop being so afraid someone is going to take something away from you, and work to see that everyone gets what they need.  Everyone includes you and yours, after all.  You are not excluded from the benefits, far from it.  You are included, and important, and part of the solution. You are also entitled to have what you need, and perhaps a bit more, because God is not stingy, and has given us enough to share and still have abundance.  Greedy humans are the problem, and we all get scared and start getting greedy with our things at some point.  It's just the way we are, and God knows this, too.  I think He wants us to at least TRY to do what Jesus told us to do.  Look in our hearts and remember that we are loved without limit, and there will  always be enough love for all of us, and even more when we start spreading that love out to others.  Love is one thing that multiplies the more you give it away.

So, there's our challenge; same as it's always been, really.  Love one another. Take care of one another.  Do your best.  Cut your neighbor a little slack.  Do what you can to make something difficult easier for someone.  Be present.  You don't have to have fancy profound words to say, just be there.  Just listen if they need to talk, or just be there, close by, ready if needed.  Just knowing you aren't alone in the Limbo and the pain makes it easier.  We aren't alone, folks.  We've got each other.  We've got God.  We need to remember that, and start acting on it.

Just my musings on a Saturday afternoon in March after dealing with a year that has felt a bit like a preview of hell.  Your mileage may vary, but you will always find me here, doing my best.  Not always succeeding, mind you, but doing my best.  That's all we can do, really.