by Stephanie Heifner

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
-Psalm 126 (NRSV)

After about 19 months of enduring the pandemic and the derecho, we've experienced much loss. We’ve experienced the loss of our friends’ lives. We’ve witnessed the suffering of those who were very ill. We lived through a storm that changed our city. We’ve been isolated. We’ve missed out on gatherings and traditions. Perhaps we’ve even survived Covid ourselves. As much as we wish it was over, and while some normalcy has returned, it still lingers on, without vaccines available for the young, and the occurrence of breakthrough infections for the vaccinated.

We’ve all felt some loss, loneliness. We remember the way things used to be, when we were laughing and joyful. We want to go back to that time. We’re weary of this, we just want things the same again!

But nostalgia blurs our memories. We remember the good parts clearly, but the not-so-good parts fade away. There have been many ways the pandemic has highlighted the cracks in our society. The security of the safety net of those with privilege and the tenuousness of that of others.

The trees that fell in the derecho--some were very old. They’d been there as long as we could remember, offering the shade of their branches, fruit from their limbs, and a home for many species of living things. And then they fell and will never stand again. But as the remains of fallen trees break down, they feed other life--fungus and insects and ultimately, brand new trees.

Shall we be active participants in restoring our community to a better existence for all? What can we let pass away in order to nurture our future? Are we open to partnering with God and others to help it grow?

We rightly hope in God, because we remember the goodness of what God has done for us in the past. We believe in the possibility, because we’ve seen it before.

May we be like those who dream. May our tears be sown into a harvest of joy! Amen

Devotion written by Stephanie Heifner for the October 6th St. Paul's United Methodist Women's Harvest of Hope meal and program.

References: Feasting on the Word Year B, Volume 1; Year C, Volume 2

Image credit: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Northeast Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons