One of my children’s soft toys has been looking a little worse for wear lately. Indeed it is getting so bad that she decided to take matters into her own hands. She ‘subtlety’ affixed a sticky post-it to the toy with the words ‘Repair me!’ Okay, we get the picture!!
Those words, ‘repair me’ are something as a Christian which represent my daily conversations with God but maybe they also sum up the times we are in at the moment. Maybe they even express the words that should speak to our hearts in these turbulent days. As the news has constantly being reported on the outbreak and the effects of the Coronovirus over the past days and weeks. In the midst of the struggle and the difficulty there have been slight moments of positivity, stories to warm our hearts. A recent article on the BBC looked at the water in Venice and found that as the boats have stopped so the people have begin to see that the waters have become clearer. Alongside that they have begin to see fish again! Also reports have been circulating that as China has tragically been caught up in the difficulties so too they have seen a fall in air pollution. There are clearer skies and better air to breathe. So too the people have begin to hear the birds singing again. As the people remain stuck in their houses, we have witnessed singing in the windows as Italian people joined in their National Anthem and embraced their identity and togetherness. As we have been forced to slow down, to refrain from much of what makes up our everyday lives is it possible that we have found more of the free time (some of us) that we have always sought?, Is there now a greater chance to spend time with children, a greater urge to stay in contact and connect with more people? While we certainly wouldn't want what is happening to us now and this won’t be good for everyone - is this nevertheless an opportunity while it lasts to consider in our thoughts and prayers the words, ‘Repair me’. What is there about our way of life that we can now see is so fragile that need fixing. What are the relationships that need repair, how are the communities we live in broken and damaged? Who are the isolated and the lonely that we now need to speak to and take notice of. Is this a moment for many of our towns and cities and people in them to see what needs changing. And so is this a time in our solitude and the increasing need to ‘social (physical) distance’ from one another the perfect moment to find the time to ‘repair’ our relationship with God. Is this a time to make our homes a place of retreat and prayer? Is this a time to start a plan to read the Bible all the way through, or to set a plan to pray for the people we know? Is this the time to learn to pray? Is it a time to focus on what is the most important that we now realise we miss. Is this a time where as ask God, ‘Repair me’ and finally even in these dark moments to take the opportunity to make it happen!
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