Standing Up

 I dropped off our ballots at City Hall this morning about 30 seconds before they were collected.  No, I did not take a picture, but I did thank the two people who were tending to the ballot collection boxes  this morning.  This pandemic has me thanking people a lot because even the simplest acts seem heroic.  Yet, there are serious ramifications of this disease that may take a long time to heal.  Lives have been lost and people struggle in isolation.  As I drove to City Hall I noticed again the littered streets and shuttered businesses. I am certain there will be consequences for those who have had to go into early retirement.  Babies are being  born into a world where people are masked and children's play is restricted. The old and frail are sequestered from friends and family.  We were already a nation who probably spent too much time in front of a screen, but now that time has doubled or tripled.  However, I certainly give thanks for Zoom, and I know many of the people I worship with do as well.  I am reminded that we humans can be surprisingly resilient.  May this resiliency be used to bring healing, not more destruction.   

I admit to weeping when I returned to my car, and I am weeping now.  While I almost always vote, I am embarrassed to admit that I have profoundly underestimated how difficult it is for some people to vote and to have their votes counted.   I honestly believe I would have crawled to the ballot box if needed.  No, I am not exaggerating, although I am certainly over-estimating the strength of my knees.  However, and I am not sure why, my arthritic knee is in much better shape than it was before the pandemic took hold.  Whatever it is that God wants me to do next, it seems God wants me standing up.   I shall continue to try to do so.  

   

Please vote.  Let us not let apathy and fear have their way.  We can't afford to lose many more dreams.