Refocusing on The Way of Love

by Lelanda Lee

“This is not the year to get everything you want.

This is the year to appreciate everything you have.”

I came across the above meme recently and was immediately struck by the rightness of it. This year 2020 will go into our memories as unforgettable and not a year that we ever want repeated for anyone. This has been a year when many people have suffered loss upon loss in unexpected and devastating ways.

I suspect part of our feelings of the irredeemability of this year has been about how the losses have knocked the moorings out from under us. The foundations upon which we build our lives—income, housing, neighborhoods . . . sense of place, jobs, security . . . family, friends, and face-to-face human connection—have been taken from us and destabilized through no fault of our own. 

A plague will do that to people. The ten plagues of Egypt forced the Israelites into a reset in the wilderness—a wilderness where they wandered for forty years and had to relearn the singular reliance upon God’s Grace. Manna, bread from heaven, was given daily and not meant to be stockpiled (like toilet paper), because God provided everyday. 

Our American culture has taught us to be upwardly aspirational. We strive to be at the top of our school class, our sports games, and our earning power. We are encouraged to always do better and achieve more. I wonder, though, about when we have the time—when we might set aside the time—to smell the proverbial roses, to play board games with our children, to write a letter to a distant aunt or elder uncle, to read a book of poems, to hone the skill of brewing beer, and to share the enjoyment of the fruits of our labors. 

In the Beatitudes in his Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus taught a countercultural lesson that began with these verses:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

    for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

    for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

    for they will inherit the Earth.

While the individual lesson in each verse relates an important specific lesson, the overarching intent of Jesus’ teaching in his blessing statements is to redirect our attention. Instead of our modern day focus on upward aspirations, Jesus calls us to see the pain of the human condition at its poorest, saddest, and weakest, and to see God’s promise of Grace as our inheritance no matter our poverty, grief, or weakness. 

The loss of a stable job and income, the horrible disease of cancer, the death of a loved one—these are experiences that overwhelm our families and force reckonings that reset how we spend our time and express our love and care for others. The wildfire evacuations brought resets for those who had to decide what is important enough to save. Refugees fleeing conflict and famine have had to endure resets that boil down to valuing the sanctity of life itself. 

What if you and I decide to push our reset buttons and refocus on the things that are truly important in our lives? 

What if we counted our blessings and expressed our gratitude in words of thanksgiving and acts of generosity?

What if we tell those we love of how and when they have brought us joy and happiness?

What if we share the light of Christ and help others live in Jesus’ light?