I missed you so much!
Oh I thought I missed you
Until I met you again
And I realized what a mess!
How and why did I miss
The mess you are?

What a joy to watch families that have been unable to see each other reunite after about three months of isolation. While many were counting their blessings, others were counting and mourning painful losses; of lives that will not be recovered, of means of livelihood that leaves the future bleak, of trust, love and friendship that were damaged as all distractions were eliminated and people were forced to sit and look deeper than cursory surface views, to discover surprises that left them wondering: how did I not see this all these while? Why am I just noticing?

Unable to un-see what has been seen, it also becomes almost impossible to continue like what has been seen is not there so in attempt to find answers to the question: “How can I live with this, like this?” The responses are resulting in more losses. The sadness of bitter revelations that business has helped us escape for so long, the weight of humongous realities we feel helpless to handle, complicated by the fear of what next after the COVID pandemic scare … has seen to the fact that it is not the same people who went into isolation that are reemerging. It is different folks in same bodies and maybe houses, in a different world.

Some are reemerging angry. Very angry at whatever they can find to place the blame on. Some are remerging sad, bitter, burdened, and broken. And if truth must be told, some have been refreshed, repurposed, refocused, and reenergized while others have so enjoyed these months, they wish life will continue as is. Where are we going with these different attitudes? Into the same space as families, immediate and extended; as neighbors, colleagues, and all. We will gather and meet at some point with our different perspectives then what? What are we going to do with our different views in the same space of time and place? And where are we all going from here?

Are we going to be so lost in our losses and gains that we turn deaf and insensitive to others or are we going to try, to be a little more patient, bearing with one another? Are we going to let fear turn us to the haters we condemn or are we going to go the extra mile to love our neighbor as we desire to be loved? Before now, we were confident that the forced isolation has mellowed our heartlessness. That we would be kinder to one another. That we would try to wear the other’s shoes, be more reasonable, show more mercy, be more tender but just the slight conditional releases we are experiencing is quickly proving otherwise, leaving us no choice but to ask the question: is this the best you and I have to offer? The best we can be for such a time as this? May God help us.

Glory!