For Wilshire Baptist Church
During Wilshire’s virtual worship service on Sunday, two of our members shared personal reflections about what this past year has meant to them. A recurring theme was being mindful of what’s been lost, and what’s been gained. In particular, Abbey Adcox said, “I pray that I don’t pick back up the lost things that were maybe normal, but definitely not best.”
I’m a song lyrics guy, and Abbey’s words reminded me of these lines from Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind”:
Well those drifter’s days are past me now
I’ve got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out.
The song speaks to a need for becoming more focused and deliberate about what is important after a time of drifting and “running against the wind” in a selfish, stubborn way.
We’ve all been running against the wind these past 12 months, not selfishly or stubbornly, but because of an unexpected and unimaginable pandemic, and we’re understandably tired. But now, with some signs that the winds may be shifting from headwinds to sidewinds at least as more people get vaccinated and COVID cases decline, it’s time to prepare for when the wind is at our backs. It’s a time to consider what we’ve lost and what we’ve gained, and as both Abbey and Seger suggest, what to leave in and what to leave out.
It seems appropriate that this wind change is coming during this season of Lent when we traditionally scale back on our desires and focus on what is most important. Last year as we entered this season, we couldn’t imagine how difficult the year ahead would be. We went into the darkness of Lent as usual but in some ways we never returned to the bright sunshine of Easter. The darkness just seemed to go on and on and the hope of Easter was blown aside by the winds of uncertainty and despair brought by the pandemic.
But now here we are, a full year later, and there is something different in the air. We can feel the winds shifting, and there is fresh hope and perhaps even anxiety about the direction in which a fresh tailwind might propel us. We need to be ready for it; we need to break away from the drifting of these past days, set our sights on a brighter future, and firm up our resolve if not our plans.
However, even in Seger’s song, the wind never goes away completely as he says, “I’m older now but still running against the wind.” In the song he’s admitting to some lingering stubbornness and selfishness. We have some control over that, which means that’s where we may have some work to do. I know I do.