For the first time in months – five to be exact but who’s counting, it has started to feel “normal” again. I first noticed the change while at the store recently. The atmosphere just felt different. Maybe it was because strangers started talking to each other again instead of averting their eyes. I had a delightful conversation with a lovely woman in the bakery about how good the cream cheese crescent ring looked. Then I noticed all the store shelves were fully stocked again. Instead of looking at rows and rows of depressingly empty shelves in the home stores, they were filled again with autumn wreaths and pumpkin spice candles. Ah, the pumpkin spice returns!
We still have a long way to go, and it’s not yet time to let our guard down. But I was so excited to see the one-way aisle markers had suddenly disappeared from the grocery store floors, just like they had never been there. I have always lived my life with hope, so I confess I’ve had to look a little harder these last few months to find that hope. Grocery store aisles, the return of pumpkin spice, and the nicety of strangers have definitely helped!
I believe the tide is turning.
It may not be quick – it took us awhile to get where we are. But anything worthwhile in life takes time. Our biggest mistake perhaps has been that we expected an instant fix, in our instant world. We needed to slow down. We needed to reevaluate what was important. And, we needed to expose what was broken.
Now, with slowness of pace and humbled hearts, we can begin to fix it.
The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. Patience is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith.
– Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift from the Sea
“Who is strong like You, Lord? You rule the raging sea; when its waves surge, You still them.” Psalm 89:8-9
