The first casualties of upheaval can be love, kindness, and patience. But crisis is also a moment when love for God & one another can spring up. For 150 days, starting on 17th March 2020, I will write 300 words based on one of the 150 psalms in the bible. How can I find and give love in the midst of coronavirus?
“What a lovely little old lady”.
I’m not sure why old ladies in Britain are always described as lovely & little. They may be little (we shrink as we get older) but are they lovely? Have you met some of them? (You may be one of them!).
Being old does not automatically make someone lovely. It is very possible, and in fact quite common, that getting older makes us worse versions of our younger selves. Our anger, or bitterness, or stubbornness, or prejudice – have only become more entrenched and hardened as we have got older.
The opposite can also be true – that wisdom, patient understanding & kindness have grown as someone has aged.
So how do we get more of the latter, and less of the former? Psalm 92 has a clue:
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, ‘The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.’
The righteous…. will still bear fruit in old age – they will stay fresh and green. This doesn’t mean that your skin won’t wrinkle, or things won’t wear out – but it does mean that there is the possibility that your heart and life will be characterised by bearing fruit & freshness. Wisdom, love, kindness, courage, warmth, forgiveness – these can all grow – they do not have to diminish as we age.
So how do we do this? How do we let these things grow, rather than becoming harder or cantankerous?
1 It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, 2 proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
A good place to start is by beginning and ending your day in prayer with God. Praising, thanking, listening and asking God – every day at the start and at the finish. Coming to Him, and asking Him to change us, and make us more like Jesus.
May you be refreshed today.
Love in Him,
Matt