Where can we find light?
As you approach the summit of Ben Nevis there are a series of cairns to follow to make sure you don’t stray off the path and fall hundreds of feet down the aptly named ‘Gardyloo Gully’. We tackled the 3 peaks challenge in 2016, we started with Snowdon, then Scafell Pike and finished with Ben Nevis. I can still remember the exhaustion I felt as we were climbing Ben Nevis after 30+ hours with little sleep. It was close to midnight as we approached the summit. There was driving sleet and the visibility was so poor that it was only as you got to each cairn, that you could just make out the next. Each time I approached a cairn I thought this must be the last one, but as I got there, I could just make out the next one through the fog and rain. It seemed never-ending.
To me the pandemic feels a lot like that; with each lockdown, we hope to get control of the virus, but as restrictions are eased, we find that infections rise, rules change and then we head into another lockdown. Each time there is a government review, we hope for the easing of restrictions, but instead, they continue as is, or are tightened. This week the latest figures show a record number of daily deaths (1820) and by the time you read this, the total number of deaths in the UK will almost certainly have topped 100,000. The NHS staff are utterly amazing in what they are doing to care for those who are ill. We owe a huge debt to them and the other key workers in our schools, shops and other areas who have kept our country going through this time.
The good news is that the vaccine rollout is going well. However, even though we are nearing the ‘summit’, there are more ‘cairns’ to go before we get there. So, despite how tired we may feel, we need to keep doing the things which will help bring down the infection levels. Even when the vaccine rollout is ‘complete’ there will be more to do before life can return to anything like the ‘normal’ we all knew 12 months ago. And even then, a lot of work will be needed to rebuild our economy in the years ahead.
I am in awe of the young poet, Amanda Gorman, who’s powerful words at Joe Biden’s inauguration spoke not only to the USA, but to the rest of the world as well. Her poem was beautifully composed and delivered with confidence and grace. So many lines resonated with me, and closing lines brilliantly answered the question posed at the beginning:
‘When day comes, we ask ourselves where can we find light in this never-ending shade?…
… The new dawn blooms as we free it. For there is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.’
2000 years ago Jesus told his followers to let their light shine (Matthew 5:16), encouraging them to step out in the face of opposition and follow the way of love that he taught. That is easy to say, but when we are exhausted and anxious about the future, when we carrying grief and loss, when we struggle to sleep and are dealing with death as a day-to-day reality, how do we do that? How do we let our light shine when it feels like it has gone out?
Three things I’ve found that can help:
1. Gratitude – take time each day to pause and look back on the day for something for which you can be truly grateful. It might only be something small, but take time to remember these things
2. Bless others – I don’t mean by praying for them (although you can do that too), but bless them by giving them a smile, sending them a card, or an encouraging email, text or message. As we lift our eyes off ourselves and do this, then it not only helps others but lights a spark in our heart too.
3. Pray – (I would say that wouldn’t I!)... but prayer is a lot more than just asking for stuff. Sometimes prayer is just about being, about resting and unburdening, about stargazing rather than astronomy. And in that,
we can find a refreshing and renewing of our soul. In that, we can find the peace to overcome our fears, the strength to carry on another day and the light to share with others around us. The prayer course we are running over these next few months explores many different ways of praying and you are welcome to join us.
So as we climb this hill before us, let’s continue to encourage one another, because even though visibility might be poor and we can only just make out the next cairn, if we keep going, together, we will get to the summit.
Rev Barry Jackson