Time
Out
“The
world will give you that once in a while, a brief time-out; the
boxing bell rings and you go to your corner, where somebody dabs
mercy on your beat-up life.”
Sue Monk
Kidd (The Secret Life of Bees)
How very much the world
needs a brief time out and God's mercy. Wouldn't it be simply
wonderful if we could take a three week break from all war, storm,
fire and flood and just sit in the autumn sunshine and think peaceful
thoughts. If we could, I believe we'd realize that life is supposed
to be like that all the time, and not just mobile craziness and
chaos. I think of the folks in the little hamlet of Mexico Beach,
Florida, which is today simply rubble in the streets. Their homes are
gone, their hearts are broken, they are dazed and confused about what
comes next and they truly need a little mercy dabbed on them. Most of
all, they need time-out to just let the dust settle so they can get
their heads around what just happened to them when hurricane Michael
blasted their known-world away.
There is another
wonderful quote from The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd that
says, “It is the peculiar nature of the world to go on spinning
no matter what sort of heartbreak is happening.” In spite of
the utter destruction of that little town, life goes on. There will
always be “Before Michael” and “After Michael” there, but
those who survived the storm will pick up the pieces and move on.
They have no choice.
The folks who dab mercy
in such circumstances are the true heroes of our beat-up world. They
aren't rock stars or giants of Wall Street—they are just ordinary
people doing ordinary jobs. Like clearing debris, getting live wires
out of the streets, making meals for people now homeless. They drive
bulldozers, and cherry pickers, and dump trucks. They bring order to
chaos and kindness to those who are still in shock. They are the
ringers of the boxing bell, the ones who wipe you down with a clean
towel, and squirt water into your dry mouth. They speak words of
encouragement and fan your battered face until you can catch your
breath enough to wade back into the fray. May God rain mercy and
blessings down on them and their proud work.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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