Susan LaffertyThe new year approaches.
And we’re looking sideways at the year that was.
2020.
Planned calendar undone.
Change unexpected.
Grief unwanted.
Up close and personal reminders
of all we do not know.
All we cannot see.
Shoeless. Face to the ground. On the plains of Jericho.
This. After Joshua stares at the man standing there with sword drawn. Equipped for battle.
This. After he asks the critical question: “Are you for us or for our enemies?” (Joshua 5:13ff)
Whose side are you on? Can I trust you? Should I fight against you?
Tomorrow. Next month. Next year.
Detailed future schedules, meticulously stored in digital calendars.
Vanish. Into thin air. Digital air.
As a corona virus disrupts. Delays. Deletes.
And thieves break in.
Whispering fear. Stealing contentment.
This confining space. A refining place. Reveals.
Makes plain where best-laid-plans put down roots.
And expectations take hold.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city.…Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be!…”
James 4:14,15
