We waited so long for deliverance
We saw hope hanging in the horizon
Beaming the rising of a new dawn
It took forever a day to arrive
We sang, we danced as it landed
Then we settled to enjoy it
But lo, it wasn’t what we thought
All over again, confusion swept
The rage worse than the storm
We termed our worst nightmare.
As the world stirs to awaken from the slumber into which it was forced by the COVID 19 pandemic, many of us who have been itching to hear the end of it cannot wait to get out. It seems like things are beginning to pick up. We can see hope in the horizon, declaring that life is about to restart. But many of us are misinterpreting that hope.
A lot of us are looking to life to return to what it used to be so they can get back to where they left off. We do not need a prophet to confirm the disappointment of such expectations. Beyond what we have seen and know so far, so much has changed in the world and will only become clearer with time. It is impossible to turn back the hands of time we have no control over. And we have not much information of where this time goes from here.
It has been many weeks since the world was shut in to spare as much as could be saved. Too much has happened, more than we can count has been lost but because we are all shut in, we can only imagine the losses. For now, it is all news happening out there, until the bell chimes and we get out again, only to realize the unbelievable shifts that happened while we tarried. The irrecoverable changes that were triggered in the ripples that turned our world and lives around. Then more than the uncertainties we are presently negotiating, the trickles of those changes will start dripping into our realities; people we will never see again, things we no longer have, new paths to be charted in ways we cannot even begin to tell except we get relevant help.
It is possible the reality is beginning to sink in for some but wait until this long awaited ‘return-to-normal’ happens and the reality of the undeniable shifts dawns. There will be new issues emerging, making previous concerns seem as nothing for some of us. New problems we may or may not know how to deal with. Then, what we have done with the time that we were given while in isolation will be revealed through our responses to the emerging challenges. Some will arise, stand on the shifts and shine. Some will crumble and be crushed by the ‘sudden’ changes that hit unexpectedly because they were not prepared. In these remaining days, we still have the chance to seek God while we can. To nurture the hope He inspires through difficulties. To learn the ways of the wisdom He endows for days to come. This may be the last chance for some of us to get things right before the inevitable sets in. How prepared are you for the days ahead? May God help us all. Amen.
Glory!