Noticings – May 5, 2021

I just noticed something. I forgot to write Noticings today. I’m writing this as I’m sitting down late Wednesday afternoon with a cup of tea after my workday, and only now did it occur to me that today is Wednesday. Maybe I’m not alone. Are the days kind of blurring together for you these days too? We’ve been at this Covid stay at home stuff for over a year, so you’d think we’d be settled into this rhythm by now. But generally we’re not. This whole year has been terribly disorienting on many levels. And we’ve still got a ways to go.

We used to frame our lives by the activities we did. Certain days meant certain doings in certain places. We’re still doing lots of things (at least I hope you are), but we’re mostly doing them from home. We’ve lost that association of place with activity, so our days are becoming blurry, losing some distinctiveness. Sunday mornings we still gather for church, but it’s on your couch. Monday mornings we still gather for our Porch scripture discussion, but we all do it from home now. Etc. Etc. We don’t get to go to the church, and interact with real, live people. It’s not an outing anymore. (Does that make it an ining?)

For people like my spouse and I who are fortunate to be able to work from the safety of our home, our challenge is that work and leisure happen in the same space. That can make it feel like you can’t escape it, like work never ends. Funny how it doesn’t work the other way with leisure never ending. Right now I’m enjoying a cup of tea on my couch, and I’m working. The lines are very blurry. The days are very blurry. The ending date of this pandemic is very blurry. My eyes are very blurry (all this screen time has had an effect on them).

Is anything in focus? I hope so! I hope you can focus on your family and loving one another. I hope you can focus on your faith-deepening journey and love one another. I hope you can focus on this present moment (whatever the heck day it is) and know that you are not alone, you are loved, and you are God’s. I pray that that’s not blurry at all!

And now that I’ve finished writing Noticings I can focus on enjoying my tea. The blend I’m sipping is called ‘Serenity Now’! Yes please, Lord! Happy Saturday everyone. (Tuesday? Friday? Whatever.)