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Most of us within this reading will never again live through the present narrative.

There is dislocation, confusion (when will we be at work?), pain, worry, doubt, loss of most possessions that keep our lives centered, jobs, an anguish of silence, sorrow, income, and the crumbling of the stability that we hold dear.

All of these factors may not apply to each of us individually. But we are brought together in a shared grief and also a shared partnership of care, volunteering, and coming out of our “shell.” We pledge to reconsider what our personal lives will be. Our futures? Will a vaccine be discovered? Will we listen to the informed medical professionals?

In these unpredictable times, a prayer may be embraced by all people of religious persuasion. We very intentionally park the labels; divisions only hurt each other. Healing is the word that must work its miracles! The prayer attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr reads:

“O God, give us serenity to accept what cannot be changed; courage to change what should be changed; and wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”

Certainly the passionate hearts of persons of religious persuasion direct their concerns to the Heavens, and all peoples throughout the globe give meditation to a Divine intervention.

In these “extra” spare days (STAY HOME!), many of us are sorting, rearranging, finding things we did not know we possessed. Where did that come from? What relative? Who lost that?  Where was that auction? So where did the Aquila come from? It’s the 1954 yearbook of the Ivanhoe Minnesota High School. Anyone interested? Free!

Of course, I read most anything in print, so below the senior pictures, I read a couple of ancient comments: Colleen Schaefer’s quote said, “Give me a quiet evening at home with a good novel and I’m happy.” And Joyce Spinner has it said of her, next to her picture, “She’s sorta playing the field, but there’s method in her madness!” One more. Ruth Faulds had it said of her, “Just because she blushes, doesn’t mean she’s bashful.” Anyone know her whereabouts?  In viewing the normal, we may be prompted to recast our memories and our dreams.

In these challenging days, weeks, months — even into a new year — let us not bail out.

In fact, an old friend of ours said with a strong voice, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Some of us are reading the Bible with greater frequency. Ah!