Weather Forecast

Memes are popular and seem to be everywhere.  Here’s one I saw recently.

Hey Siri, “What’s the weather like today?”

Siri replies, “Don’t worry about it.  You aren’t going anywhere.”

This one just struck me as LOL.  Maybe it is hysterically funny, or maybe it should be classified as gallows humor.  It points to a reality in our current stay-at-home climate but tongue-in-cheek, it clearly indicates shared pain.

I have heard that we used to accept certain things as true, as baselines for discussions.  It was understood that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.  It was understood that we need air to breathe and that without it, we die.  It was understood that if it’s cold enough, rain becomes snow.



In our current culture, it seems that truth is so personally defined as to make even some ‘universal truths’ a matter of debate.  The spin of truth caused by our individual belief system colors everything we think and feel.  Our truth has become the only truth because we surround ourselves with news and information that agrees with us.  We seem not to mind that social-media algorithms perpetuate our need for opinion-reinforcement.

Without the ability to consider the viewpoint of another, we’ve become polarized to the extent that we can rarely have an open, considerate and peaceful discourse about minor differences let alone life and death matters.  For someone to question our truth is to challenge our very self-worth. "Unacceptable", we cry, loudly and forcefully.

The truth around this pandemic takes many forms as well.  We all have an opinion.  A few are listed here but there are probably hundreds of others;

• It’s a hoax.  It’s the end of the world.
• It’s not any more serious than the flu. The flu is deadly serious.
• We need tens of thousands of ventilators.  You can't possibly need that many.
• Shelter-in-place works.  Stay at home regulations are never going to help.
• People are dying.  More people recover, though.

To some degree, your life has been affected irrespective of where you stand on the pandemic and its seriousness, lethality, method of transmission, and its anticipated longevity.

The pastor of a church in Washington State recently asked his congregation if they thought we are;

     1. In a momentary blizzard

     2.  In a months-long winter,

     3.  In a years-long ice-age?

Let me offer a short story as I finally get to the point.

While singing in a funeral choir many years ago, I confess to boredom as we sang Amazing Grace.  This composition is old, worn-out and tired.  This everybody-knows-it melody is over, people.

But after groaning my way through the first stanza, I looked up at the gathering. Right in front of me, emotions so desperately kept-in-check had been released with streaming tears as this music resonated in the hearts and minds of all. Their loss was brutally revealed as ancient melody and lyric touched them deeply.

This gift was offered by a volunteer choir but I was unable to participate until I put my own feelings aside. Finally, I was able to sing this 'overused' song with meaning.  In this 'new' version of Amazing Grace, I was able to express vocal solidarity with mourners.  Suddenly, I was able to weep with and for them.

This memory convicts me frequently.  It is a thorn in my foot.  (I've written of this experience before so yes, the thorn is real.) That day, I understood that my opinions had no place as I was present for the sole purpose of serving those in agony. Humbled and embarrassed, this moment burned itself into my soul and became the following core belief.

Put aside the illusion of personal rightness in favor of God's righteousness.

In whatever ways you defend the answer to the ice-age question above, perhaps we can agree to these simple ‘truths’;

• Some neighbors are hurting, frightened and experience wake-up-every-hour worries.  
• Their concerns about family, friends, jobs, finances and, health are real to them. 
• It is within our power to love our neighbors well by offering aid and comfort.
• The needs of others are always more important than the fractures and walls we create to separate us.  

Siri lets us know that we’re not going anywhere.  She should add, "Let’s use this time wisely."

If you’re wondering what you can do, take another look at this post.  I am disappointed to report that the ‘#groupsof10 movement’ is yet to crawl.  But together, we can propel this and countless more ‘little ideas’ into a future of loving gifts.

If you're wanting to help in some way but nervous about this particular 'unknown idea', I encourage you to check out this link for more ways to help presented by 80,000 Hours.

Perhaps when this is over, we can look back agreeing on one more truth.  Maybe, we’ll be able to say that we learned valuable lessons and have grown to become better people than we were in the seasons before COVID-19.

Palm Sunday begins today.  Called Holy Week, we will travel the roads Jesus traveled to his death.  We will rise again as He did when Easter arrives.  There could be no better time for introspection and decision followed with the embracing of agape love for others that has been freely given to us.