Tag: pandemic

Time to reflect…and look forward

We are nearing the end of what some have termed ‘the worst year ever’. As the year draws to a close, it is a good time to reflect back. It has certainly been a time of catastrophic, worldwide losses and deep, personal pain for many of us. We have seen the pandemic sweep across the globe, with no signs of slowing down, politicians play dirty, nations continuing to suffer under poor leadership as well as natural disasters, and a spotlight on the racism still deeply embedded in many of our cultures.

TIME TO REFLECT

We would do well to reflect soberly on the state of our own nation, neighbourhood – and our own individual hearts. One of the big lessons of this year is that we have so little control over anything. May that make us humble before God, acknowledging our place, as well as his place, in the universe.

I always like to take some time in the run up to the turn of the year to reflect back and think about what went well, what I found difficult, what lessons I learned, what brought joy and what relationships blossomed. I also think about the things I need to leave behind. Perhaps you could take the time to do the same?

LOOKING AHEAD

I also think it is important to think and pray about the year ahead. I like to consider how I might go deeper in my relationship with God (perhaps trying new spiritual disciplines), what relationships I sense God is asking me to cultivate, how I can encourage my family, what I believe are the next steps for my work/ministry etc.

At a Zoom Christmas lunch I attended this December, we were each asked to think about what good things we’d like to take forward from 2020 into 2021. My response was to keep clinging to God (which I have had to do a lot this year) and also listen to my body and give myself a break when I really need one, without feeling guilty.

A WORD FOR THE YEAR?

That leads me neatly onto another practice I started doing a few years ago – asking God for a word that he would like me to pray into and explore for the year. I haven’t settled completely on my word yet, but I have a sense that it links into finding that right rhythm with God.

MAKING SPACE

If you haven’t already done so, can I encourage you to take some time out to reflect back on 2020 and look forward to 2021 with an attitude of prayer. One of the practices that I have found really helpful, since reading Sharon Brown’s Sensible Shoes series, is the Daily Examen.

It can be helpful to view the Examen as a way of sitting with Jesus and talking through what happened during the day. It is about slowing down to pay attention to the details of our lives, which we might otherwise overlook, so it can be helpful to visualise snapshots of our days in our minds.

The wonderful Lectio365 app has utilised this approach over the last three days to help users look back over the past year. If you haven’t already seen it, it would definitely be worth taking a look. You can download the app from here.

GOD KNOWS

I know that it has been a tough year, and we are still in the midst of difficult restrictions. But we have much to be grateful for (another spiritual discipline!) – not least that we have a God who sits on the throne, for whom none of this has been a surprise, and who knows exactly what next year holds.

And finally…

ONLINE RETREAT

I recognise that many of us still have much to process from this year. To help facilitate this, I have created an online retreat for 23 January for us to spend time with Jesus and walk through our disappointment and loss with him. Details can be found here:

If you know anyone else who you think would be interested in this event, please do forward on the details to them. Thank you x

A time to mourn

Reflections based on Ecclesiastes 3:4: ‘A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.’

Ecclesiastes 3 talks about the fact that there is a time for everything, and this verse includes times for weeping and mourning. Personally, I am living in a strange time of mourning the loss of my mother and now my grandmother deeply, but also realising that life goes on and there is much to be positive about too.

I know that we are months into this pandemic, and so many others are in a similar position of mourning – but their loved ones died unexpectedly from this horrible coronavirus. I cannot imagine the pain of not being able to say goodbye to my own mother, and yet that is what has just happened to my dad…

The government is at the stage of trying to ease lockdown as the numbers of deaths and newly infected patients is decreasing. However, there still seems to be much to weep and mourn about. Thousands and thousands of people have died, nurses, doctors, care home workers and those in prisons, supermarkets, food banks and elsewhere are literally working around the clock to provide care and keep necessary facilities open. The mental and physical toll on them must be extraordinary.

And last week we learned of the tragic and totally senseless death of George Floyd, at the hands of police. It has sparked outrage across the world and riots and peaceful protests have been occurring in many large cities. It is right for us to mourn and weep with George’s family. But also with all who have spoken about seeing themselves in the terrifying image of him being held down with a white policeman’s knee on his neck.

This poor man’s death has raised the profile of another pandemic sadly rife in our societies: racism. And we need to take the time to mourn for the fact that, for all our ‘advances’, we are not united as one people. All of us are made in the image of God, and Jesus came to reconcile us not just to the Father but to each other. However, these gospel truths are not reflected in so many people’s experiences – and we should weep at that knowledge.

I was stopped in my tracks when I had the pleasure – and challenge – of editing Ben Lindsay’s book We Need to Talk about Race. There was so much in it that confronted my largely comfortable, privileged life and made me realise I don’t fully understand the experiences of so many of my brothers and sisters. And it is far too easy to simply ignore that fact, and spend my time with those I’m comfortable with, with those that are like me.

It is time to mourn our own prejudices and apathy – and repent of them –but also time to take action. To stand alongside those who are being oppressed, and to take the time to listen to them in order to gain understanding. Our nation has seen a rise in community spirit through the lockdown; may we now come together in unity, lifting up those who have been brought low in order that we may all stand as one against the horrors of injustice.