Bridge over troubled water

Can anyone else believe we are in November already and can count on one hand the number of people who have been to your house in the last 8 months?  It’s been quite a year and one in which we really need to pull together…but, oh, wait, that is one of the things that has become so much more difficult to do.  So much is now weather dependant or number dependant or done with only half your face showing or from behind a plastic screen or with super sticky sanitised hands or on zoom.  

I think one of the things we struggle with most, as humanity, is fear of the unknown. I certainly know when Awena was in hospital I would constantly wonder when she was going to come home.  That was the most difficult thing.  It was totally out of my control there was absolutely no way of knowing.  I had to rely on factors which I could do nothing about.  I feel 2020 has been a year of uncertainty and of the unknown.  I find myself pondering how, as a society, we can move forward in a way that allows us to push through that fear and find hope and determination in the fogginess that lies ahead.

What would it be like if we could hang up our worries and fears and just trust? Wouldn’t there be a relief and a sense of freedom? So why don’t we do it? Why do we hang on to them? I think it’s because we like to have some control and by keeping them in mind it kinda feels like we’re still clinging onto something.

Is it part of our nature as humans to have control? What are the feelings that arise when we don’t…powerlessness, helplessness, chaos, perhaps a lack of identity?  But, how can we let go when we don’t know where to put our trust instead? Surely it has to be in something greater than humanity? Something powerful, something helpful, something all-knowing. I have had the privilege to know a God who is all that and so much more. By trusting in him I am able to live a life that doesn’t worry about that which is beyond my control. I can trust that I don’t have to face difficulties alone and that the outcome will be for my good. What about knowing a God who is a kind father wanting the best for his children? Our kids look to us, trusting us for the answers, trusting that when they struggle we will help them learn, trusting that when we teach them we know a better path even though they can’t see it. Trust is a massive deal and in today’s society, we are taught to trust no one. It’s counter-cultural. But then perhaps it is counter-cultural not to worry. I guess all I want to offer today is that in the uncertainty we face, as we ask the big questions like “when will I see my mum again?”; “when will I next have someone round for dinner?”; “when will a friend be able to hold my nearly-six-month-old?”, there is someone who knows the next chapter and will carry us through the storm; the bridge over troubled waters. It’s been my saving grace this year anyway.

When all else fails we have to reach to something that is beyond our own resources.  Connections are powerful and without them, we start to wither away.  Who can you connect with today?  Why not text them now?  Connect.  It might be the thing that stops a worry becoming an all-consuming fear. It’s time to find your bridge.  BT got it right when they said: “it’s good to talk”.  In a time where reaching out seems so much more difficult, let’s encourage each other to keep going, to keep pressing on.  Let’s let go of the need to control our individual situations and face these challenges together.