Twenty-Twenty Vision: Carolyn R. Wilker

As a friend put it, after a positive eye check-up early in the year, she hoped that this year her vision could be 20-20. That she could continue to see clearly and also look ahead to the new year with renewed courage.

Symbolic perhaps until we were hit with the coronavirus that has shut down so many businesses and left people, including me, wondering how long this will take to pass us by.

Is it anything like the Israelites getting the word to leave Egypt for the Promised Land, leaving other hardships behind to be faced by the Red Sea on one side, mountains on another, and their former captors coming after them? That would have been a dire situation. It terrified them, and they asked if they would have been better off staying where they were. Not unlike us now.

Those who’ve read that Exodus story (Exodus 14) know what happened. They thought they were doomed, but Moses asked God for help. And he followed what God said, to raise his walking stick, and the sea parted. They were rescued from what we could call an enemy.

Our time now might be likened to the situation at the Red Sea. Not the same for sure, with our electronic capabilities, our modern society that offers many advantages that the Israelites would never have dreamed of. Neither would we have been in this place 20 years ago.

We fear for lives; we practise physical distancing. We have the internet and telephone to stay in touch with family, even when we cannot be near them. And we can order online.

 I miss the hugs of my family and my grandchildren, and time with friends. It’s a kind of grief to leave behind what we had and to face the unknown. The virus is such a new thing that epidemiologists are studying and still trying to understand. And for now, we practice being apart, even when it’s terribly hard.

I listened to a message  this evening from a local church, taped today for their Easter Sunday. We have beautiful churches with stained glass windows where worship took place up to the beginning of March. But it is the people in it who are the church. The people who go out of their way to assist those who need help, who are involved in front line care of the sick, people who deliver groceries to those who are unable, or better off not to go out. Many more acts of grace are out there, I’m sure.

The church is active outside the building. Our adult children are taking care of our groceries and we’re staying home, except for a short daily walk, because it is better that we do. Ministers, including our own, are presenting short services and meditations, offering music and prayers on a variety of platforms, and those who can support the effort are doing so.

Last week, while keeping our distance, two grandchildren danced for us on our driveway. Their mom had been coaching them and their dad supported the effort. It was a gift and a ministry at a time when my heart needed some consolation in our “Red Sea” event.

Who will rescue us?

We hope that the death count slows and that fewer contract the virus. We want people to do what they can, even when we feel restless ourselves, until a vaccine can be created. And then we have God knowing, God’s 20-20 vision, his love helping us get through it.

As we celebrate this Easter, in a time that may be hard and tiresome, painful even, remember that God is with us. Our vision may not be 20-20, but through Jesus’ resurrection, we are promised a place in heaven at the end of our lives. We need help to see this through, and God can do that.

Carolyn Wilker is a writer from southwestern Ontario.

https://www.carolynwilker.ca/about/ 

More than Chocolate Bunnies and Decorated Eggs

Courtesy: godairyfree.org

 The six weeks or so leading up to Easter afford another boom time for the confectionary industry, following in the wake of Valentine’s, as chocolate eggs and Easter bunnies are on offer at every turn.

Egg decorating and springtime painting competitions engage kids, while backyard birdhouse installations invite birds returning from the south to enjoy nesting accommodations. Farm acreage and gardens begin to show evidence of preparation for planting.

Pic Credit: dreamstime.com

These all contribute to the celebration of nature’s spring awakening. It’s a marvellous time of year for young children to be awakened also, to the wonder of nature’s life-cycles. Unfortunately some city-bound children may not have as much opportunity for this as do those in small town and rural areas.

My appreciation for spring goes beyond those elements of spring, as much as I delight in them, for this period leading up to Easter provides me with opportunities to consider the wonders of my faith and to journey forward in mind and heart, by reflecting back on Jesus’ path to the cross in the concluding period of His earthly ministry.

And so, as I’ve mentioned from time-to-time in former years, my wife and I join weekly with people in our town from across the Christian community for a one half-hour lunchtime service each Wednesday during the pre-Easter period of Lent.

A different theme is adopted each year and the brief homily in each service is presented by the pastor of a congregation other than that of the host church for that particular week. Therefore, the venue changes and so does the speaker. This is followed by a simple but welcome lunch. We enjoy the inter-church fellowship immensely.

I engage privately in several other personal disciplines during that period. Perhaps this is all foreign to you, and maybe events like this aren’t convened in your community. Your local churches may, however, get together on Good Friday for a service to commemorate Jesus’ sufferings and death for humanity’s sins.                                           

But remember too, that Easter Sunday Morning is more than chocolate bunnies and decorated eggs. It is the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, when the significance of it is brought front and centre.  

My pic: Will this place be filled with

praises on Easter Sunday morning?

There will surely be a company of worshiping people near your home, people who, especially on Easter Sunday, sing joyful songs or hymns of thanksgiving and praise in honour and gratitude for God’s love, mercy and grace.

My word – how far I’ve strayed from chocolate bunnies and decorated eggs! Not really, for I’m on track with millions who see in spring’s awakening an apt parallel to the lives of those who have awakened to the new life that God imparts once they embrace in faith that Jesus Christ died and rose for them.

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Peter is a retired pastor – well, sort of retired – as he is currently engaged as an associate volunteer pastor. He lives in Southwestern Ontario with his wife, May, and writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column and occasional magazine articles. Peter is author of two books: "Parables from the Pond" (Word Alive Press) and "Raise Your Gaze . . . Mindful Musings of a Grateful Heart" (Angel Hope Publishing). He and May are also engaged in leading nursing home / residential chapel services and music. ~+~