
It has been almost two weeks since the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic.
I don’t know about you, but that seems like a lifetime ago. So much has changed so quickly I’m not sure what to feel at any given point.
I woke up a few mornings ago and realized that not knowing what to feel actually provides me with the opportunity to choose how I’m going to feel.
Last week, a colleague reminded me of the Old Testament prophet Zechariah’s admonition:
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.(Zechariah 9:12)
The great South African theologian Steve De Gruchy took the concept of hope a step further and once said that “We are called to be midwives of hope.”
The COVID-19 Pandemic is testing us in ways that few imagined just a few weeks ago. The cost—human, economic, social—is huge and growing. It is easy to lose hope in these times. But as the prophet Zechariah and De Gruchy remind us: despair is not an option.
Not only must we remain hopeful ourselves, but we must also bring hope to others. We can do this through our own acts every day—with our coworkers, our family members and our neighbors. By doing so we are united with one another through our common humanity.
Moreover, that is where we will find God.
It is through that strength of unity that we can be of real service to those in need even as we face challenges like the COVID-19 Pandemic. We are only going to get through this by working together.
My prayer for each of you is that you can find the hope of which Zechariah reminds us so that you can continue to be a midwife of hope for others.
So, each morning when I get up, I choose hope.