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Spring is bursting out all around us. The season of new birth and rebirth in all its glory. I just planted new flowers in my front walkway potted-garden. And as of this writing, I’m still anticipating the birth of my new grandson, Lennon (today was actually the due date…but as we all know, babies set their own schedule for arrival). All the while I am continually blessed witnessing my granddaughter, Rory Rose blossoming into a new being every day…with new discoveries and abilities… communicating her wants (and don’t wants), gaining coordination, and almost walking. If you want a lesson in openness, curiosity, trust, and innocence - spend time with a 14.5 month-old! (I read recently that we describe children by months up to age 2 because the changes from month to month in the first two years of life are dramatic and amazing! And it’s definitely true.)
With so much LIFE blooming all around - it’s bewildering to witness all the destruction and death occurring in Ukraine (and other places in the world) on the news - and attempt to hold it all -- the life and the death, the joy and the sorrow, the hope and the despair -- in my heart. But that is what we’re called to do. As John Roedel so eloquently says: I can’t force peace upon the world but I can become a force of peace in the world…
I can’t make the
world be peaceful
I can’t stall tanks
from roaring down streets
I can’t prevent children
from having to hide in bunkers
I can’t convince the news to
stop turning war into a video game
I can’t silence the sound of bombs
tearing neighborhoods apart
I can’t transform a guided missile
into a bouquet of flowers
I can’t make a warmonger
have an ounce of empathy
I can’t convince ambassadors
to quit playing truth or dare
I can’t deflect a sniper’s bullet
from turning a wife into a widow
I can’t stave off a country from being
reduced to ash and to rubble
I can’t do any of that
the only thing I can do
is to love the next person I encounter
without any strings or conditions
to love my neighbor
so fearlessly that
it causes a ripple
that stretches from
one horizon to the next
I can’t force peace
upon the world
but I can become a force
of peace in the world
because sometimes
sometimes all it takes
is a candle, a single candle
lit in the darkness
to start a movement
“Lord, make me a candle
of comfort in this world
let me burn with peace”. ~ John Roedel
Blessings and Peace - Rev. Vicky
