Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.
(Benjamin Disraeli)
Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath. Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody. (Romans 12:15-16)
It is hard to hear how much tragedy is touching families these days. Family members lost to this virus; others surviving it, but left with life-long debility. Jobs lost; mementos buried under rubble; homes no longer habitable due to natural disasters. Entire countries in unrest; people senselessly murdered for their beliefs or unwillingness to bow their knee to the ruling authorities. The worst of the worst can leave one wondering where it will all end. It is likely you have been 'emotionally' vested in the lives of those who have experienced such a tragedy. Crying until tears no longer come - groaning in agony with those who suffer such loss and devastation. Connection in community means we will share in the happy times, but it also means we will weep with those who weep. Never apologize for that connection, my friends. It is what makes us 'community'.
I have seen first-hand the tragedy of this devastating viral attack on our world. As a member of the healthcare profession I have never seen anything so massively destructive as this one virus. I have seen the loss of young lives, not just the older, frailer ones. I have also observed something many of you have not: the extreme sorrow and devastation of heart that our healthcare workers have endured. Doctors pushed to the point of exhaustion - awakened all hours of the night to make adjustments to treatment protocols. Nurses endlessly garbed in protective gear, knowing they are not just 'delivering care', but rather fighting for the lives they see before them. Techs and nursing assistants running endlessly to keep patients turned, clean, linens changed, and supplies ready at the hand of the doctors and nurses. Respiratory Therapists pushed to their limits by endless hours of ventilatory support for their patients. I have also seen the families standing by for word of their loved one's recovery - even one iota of hope held out bringing some measure of peace to their aching hearts. Others struggling to let go, knowing their loved one has very little hope of recovery.
What does a broken heart feel like, my friends? I think it might feel a little like a life being undone by the tragedy they face - like the life's blood was being sucked from the individual drop by drop until nothing remained but a weakened framework of humanity. Weep for those who weep; hold close those who hunger for just one touch to assure them they are not alone. Never apologize for being moved by life's greatest challenges - embrace them and embrace those who go through them alongside you. Stand together. If I could but request one thing of each of my friends today it would be the simple task of reaching out to another in a place of emotional need today. Will it cost you something? Yes, it will likely cost you a little bit of your emotional strength and connection, but that tiny bit of strength and connection you share with those hurting so terribly may be what helps pull them through to the other side. Let's be a community that steps up, reaches out, and holds close those who are so deeply touched by what seeks to undo them today. Just sayin!
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