Be strong and of good courage

Two weeks ago, my husband and I took a drive to Hammonasset Beach State Park. It was a sunny afternoon, the temperatures not too cold for January. We parked near the Meigs Point Nature Center and made our way to the path along the shore’s dunes. We were not the only ones with that idea on that lovely Saturday afternoon. I wondered if the folks we met along the path were perhaps there for similar reasons. Earlier that week our nation’s Capitol had been ambushed by rioters who, egged on by politicians, had come to wreak havoc not just on the building, but on the very system that holds us together as a people.

Looking out at the gentle waves lapping the Connecticut shoreline, I wondered if, like me, the others who had ventured outside that afternoon needed to see that though our hearts were heavy, the world had not come to an end. The seas still roared, the setting sun colored the horizon as it always does. Those who passed by shared smiles and nods, even behind our masks. Together we were recognizing what a delight there is in sharing the wonder of this shoreline on a pretty winter’s day … in spite of the headlines in the news.

That day, one of my favorite quotes by Isak Dineson came to mind:

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea.” Perhaps like me, others who were walking along the sand wanted to feel the salt of the air on their faces and to feel the stiff breezes that caused our eyes to tear.

And even if none of those were the reasons so many made their way to the beach for an afternoon walk that day, there was in it still, a sense of wonder, a sense of joy, a sense of hope … weeping may linger for the evening, but joy comes in the morning, the psalmist reminds us. We will continue on to see another day.

That’s good news as this new year begins. Traditionally, we understand a new year to be a call to a new beginning … it is that.

Our country begins anew with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman to hold that office and the first woman of Black and Asian descent to hold that office. Regardless of our political persuasions, we can surely hold those leaders in our prayers. And, this new year also brings a sense of continuation: a continuation of hope, a continuation of all that makes us good and kind and compassionate, and yes, even a continuation of living through this global pandemic.

There is work to be done. We have shown that we are a strong people, a resilient people, and that, too, will continue. Already the days are growing longer. Already a vaccine has begun to become available. Already we are creating new ways to care for each other, to lift up the lowly, to listen to voices of people long silenced, to know and to be known.

Rear Adm. Margaret GrunKibben, the chaplain to the U.S. House of Representatives and a Presbyterian minister, offered her own thoughts about how we, as a nation and as a people, can move forward with hope.

“Our daily lives are not separate from God’s involvement in them,” she said. “God is very much present and very much has come alongside each and every one of us as we labor in the vineyard. And if that labor is tedious, God understands the tedium. If the labor is under siege, God understands the crisis and walks beside us in still waters — as well as in the shadows of danger.” She added: “Faith matters. It mattered on (that) Wednesday, it matters today, and it’ll matter tomorrow” (Religion News Service, Jan. 9, 2021).

May we all be strong and of good courage as we face the living of these days.

LaSala