A Monday Meditation for November 2, 2020
For this week’s Monday Meditation, I offer these JOYS from YOU, St. Peter’s:
I will be honest and say that yesterday, All Saints Day, was the first of the “ritual” services that we had to adapt to be online. Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany are coming. As a result, I cried a lot this week. I felt all of the feelings and poured over the pictures and stories that you shared about your loved ones. And in the midst of all of that, I didn’t always respond well to others. I didn’t always give myself the space that I needed to grieve or to grow. I didn’t always have a smile on my face, despite my wanting it to be there. I’m sharing this because many of you keep reaching out to say the same thing: “This is difficult.” “I just feel off.” “I don’t have any more room for emotions.” And as my four-year-old said, “That was a Too Big Day.”
But here’s the hope: We are in this together. We are entering a week when our country’s election system is going to be front and center and the Covid-19 pandemic will continue to challenge us. There will be communal hurts and individual pains for all of us, and they will all be unique. Noting these realities, I am choosing to pray more regularly than usual, and I welcome your prayer requests: email, text, snail mail, Marco Polo, phone, whatever. I’d be honored to spend some time with God and your prayers. I am going to try to focus on hope when the world seems overwhelming. I’ll let you know how it goes.
All of us are doing these “pandemic things” differently, and that is becoming more and more clear.
My hope for you (and for each of us as individuals and as a community) is that we can continue to lean into our faith and each other as we journey into the unknown ahead.
Together While Apart,
Lori
P.S.