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Ups and downs

I found it hard to choose a theme for this week’s article, not because there weren’t ideas in my head but rather that there were so many. On a positive note, our son arrived this weekend for a short but most welcome visit.

I found it hard to choose a theme for this week’s article, not because there weren’t ideas in my head but rather that there were so many. 

On a positive note, our son arrived this weekend for a short but most welcome visit. On a more sombre note, it’s been months since we first planned a get-together. COVID restrictions kyboshed that one, but back to a positive note, this much anticipated time is Len and his wife’s added demonstration of their love and care to us. 

As if we haven’t heard enough of COVID, it’s great to see that our provincial number of cases continues to decline. One not-so-celebratory aspect of this is that there still are folks who refuse to acknowledge the severity of the pandemic and consequently, who refuse to take precautionary measures as stressed by our provincial government. 

Above all of this, however, is the gut wrenching and heartbreaking revelations of the pain and death of so many Indigenous children forced into residential schools. We live fairly close to a First Nations territory and I have a number of friends from there. In speaking with them, I’m amazed at the strength they’ve displayed in choosing to move forward. Their local government and ours work together on a number of projects and I am extremely proud of all of those involved. 

Divisions and challenges have faced humanity throughout all of history. I doubt that there is anyone reading this article who hasn’t come face-to-face with seemingly insurmountable difficulties nor, hopefully, with times of great joy and rejoicing. Ups and downs we call them. 

Let’s never forget that belonging to Jesus Christ doesn’t exempt us from the severity of the “downs” but neither from the hope that is found in Him. Amen. 

“My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 12:30)