Journal & Topics Media Group

Epiphanies – Love It


Rev. Grice

By Rev. Dr. William G. Grice, III

Now it’s August.

The idea for everybody to stay home for two weeks in March is ancient history, a story told once upon a time long, long ago. 

Since then, for some individuals and families, life continues to be beautiful. For others, life is getting worse. Tension, anxieties, and stress are more prevalent individually and collectively, although some refuse to admit it or deny any of it exists. 

“Strange times,” I’ve heard people say. “Challenging.”

Indeed, these are strange and challenging times. Then, along the way, classified government files about unidentified flying objects are declassified, made public, and shared all over the internet. As curious as UFO information appears, it does lead one to wonder if aliens have been visiting planet earth for decades. It certainly leads me to wonder if the next time ET phones home, he’d be kind enough to ask if I can go with him.

There are days like that: days I’m tired of today being the same as yesterday, and the day before yesterday, and the day before that. Each morning, with a cup of coffee in hand, I settle in front of my laptop to start the day to be useful and productive. When the screen appears, my Google Calendar proclaims, “William, you have nothing planned today.” But I already knew that.

“What shall we do this week for fun?” I ask Ann.

“You have an eye appointment on Tuesday,” she reminds me, “and we should go shopping. We ate the last lunch meat yesterday.” 

Scarcely, such excitement is overwhelming. My heart skips a beat. I am engulfed with joy. There’s something to do besides watering the lawn and weeding the garden, checking the weather app on my phone and trying to decide what we’ll have for dinner, which is usually one of three things: leftovers, something in the freezer, or carry-out. 

These redundancies and routines remind me of watching television programs on HGTV that Ann enjoys so much. And, yes, I do watch them with her. Name any show and pretty much the storyline follows the same script. Let’s remove this wall to create an open concept. Oh, dear! Now that we’ve opened this wall we have a problem with electrical wiring, plumbing, HV/AC, or something else. Termites, wood rot, a leaking roof or basement structural issues present expensive problems. 

“We just don’t have any more money,” whines the homeowners. 

“I can’t give you everything on your list,” whines the decorator or real estate agent.

At this time in the show, I’m also ready to get wine. “Want some?” I ask Ann.

She answers, “Yes! And I’m really tired of your comments! Stop mocking programs I enjoy.” 

“You mean, ‘Are you going to love it?’ ‘Or are you going to list it?’” I say as I head to the kitchen.

“If it were up to me,” says Ann, “I’d list it and you with it!” 

Before returning with Ann’s glass of wine I check the supply to see if it’s time to call Binny’s for curbside pick-up.

Still, even with this tongue-in-cheek tale of these strange and challenging times, I am hopeful. I am hopeful people will continue to do what they can to stay safe and stay well for themselves and others. I am hopeful people will maintain positive attitudes and adjust to changes and challenges even when they might feel reluctant to do so. And I am hopeful that people will use this moment of history to give serious reflection to significant concerns that face everyone who share our planet, our home: issues regarding the environment, economy, race relations, social justice, and peace.

Each of these concerns are layered with levels of complexities that are hard to fathom. Yet, even with their complexities, each person can act responsibly and make a difference by the ways one treats people and contributes to the betterment of one’s community. A familiar saying directs people to do two things: “Think globally. Act locally.” 

As I think about this moment in history – a moment that quickly influenced and initiated social and cultural changes, and brought to public awareness concerns that have been ignored for too long – I hope people will realize one thing above the rest: when it comes to our planet earth and its many diverse inhabitants, we’d better learn to get along with one another, work together, and love this place we all call home. Seriously, if we can’t fix it, we don’t have the option to list it.

 

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