Rob, Aden, Daniel and I just "went to church" via live stream and I discovered - when too choked up to say the Lord's Prayer - that I cry just as easily at online church as I do in the building. As I ran to get a box of Kleenex I cursed my easy-cry gene while blessing the technology that brings so much life into our homes. Rev Mark's message focused on Psalm 23, amazingly apt though he planned this sermon series last summer. He distilled the psalmist's words into two focal points: darkness is inevitable but despair is optional; and, don't let the darkness obscure what God has shown you in the light.
Technology also enabled a visual check of one big blessing- our extended family - last night. My mom, siblings and their families all connected with us via Zoom "happy hour." What a relief to see everyone smiling and healthy despite the dire headlines, and what a great escape to laugh at my brothers' bad jokes and with the toddlers and young children who ran through the screens. We could hear parents admonishing their little ones off camera to "take your hands off his neck" and see toddler tears erupt over a dropped popsicle in the background. Older cousins explained what their online school looked like and how they were connecting with friends in our new reality. We all thought about how we had probably had had too many children.
My brother, James, recommended investing in live chickens to ensure a steady egg supply. We mused from separate time zones over the probability of Amazon delivering live chickens. James then canceled the whole idea, realizing that four adults, three children, three dogs already composed a group of 10 and the state of California wouldn't allow a bigger gathering.
I thought, why have we never done this before? The kids get to see their cousins and my whole family can connect in one virtual place... amazing. And then remembered, we have always been far too busy to make this work. Social and athletic commitments would have never allowed for a weekend "Zoom date," and what a strange gift to be able to prioritize it now. We even sang "Happy Birthday" to all the March birthdays before promising to reconnect next week.
I don't know about you, but I am weirdly emotional now, and cry easily not only at online church and Zoom happy hours but throughout the day. Headlines like "One thousand retired medical workers volunteer to come back and help in New York" start the fountain, and the caremongering and random acts of kindness sprouting up all over the world do the same. What can I do today that shines light into somebody's darkness?
Something to think about as I head out on a walk. I'll never match my brother John's 30 - 40,000 steps each quarantine day but I can clear my head and keep moving forward.
Stay safe and well,
xoxo
Laura
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