TGIF! Remember when that was the universal exclamation on the last workday of the week? No matter at what level of employment you labored, you welcomed Fridays. Stretching before you were two days free of the demands of the workplace. Time for your happy dance!
As of today, the United States has 22 million people who are no longer smiling as the hours of Friday slip away, no high-fiving, or talk about plans for the weekend with family and friends. None of them are doing a happy dance. For these millions of unemployed, every day is now Friday. No need to look forward to time with family; they spend every day with family. As surely as those who are fighting to survive the deadly coronavirus infection, these individuals who keep the wheels of the economy in motion are fighting a battle too.
It’s sad, worse than sad, that back in January and early February when the data regarding the potential dangers of the virus became public, the falling domino effect it would have was not taken seriously. Perhaps if Wisdom and Discernment had been allowed their day, these 22 million people would be enjoying another typical Friday. But as the old folks say, “No use crying over spilt milk. Get a towel and wipe it up.”
That’s what we’re doing now; trying to wipe up the “split milk” of our time-the coronavirus; trying to prevent the infection rate from continuing to climb; trying to stop the death toll; trying to triage the deadly shots to the economy; trying to salvage what we can. But progress is slow, quirky, and as of now unencouraging. Could our problem be we aren’t using the right brand of towels to “wipe it up,” the brand that guarantees to soak up messy spills irrespective of how big they are? I think that is exactly the issue. I will not stop saying it: we can not win this battle, nor wipe up the mess of spilt ignorance and hubris and partisan politics in which it is enmeshed until we bring Wisdom and Discernment from behind the curtain into the starring roles. These two are renown for their abilities to “wipe up” like nothing else can. Why? Because they are manufactured by Jehovah Inc. and their CEO is our Lord and Savior.
We can respect the work of scientists, pharmaceutical companies and all others engaged in finding the right “towels” to wipe up and contain the damage of this viral onslaught. We pray for their success in so doing. But as importantly, we turn to God for whom nothing is impossible; and for whom all things are possible. We grab for His “towel”, our Bibles, and seek the wisdom and discernment contained therein as we confront the spilt mess of this season. We rely on His words to sustain us spiritually and emotionally so that our physical efforts to deal with this threat are not weakened by fear, worry or ignorance.
Love. Joy. Peace.