Note from Nora: Noticing the blessings at hand

May 29, 2020 “I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being.” These words from Psalm 104 may challenge us in these anxious and uncertain times.  And yet, why not? There is lots to lament in the restricted lives we are leading. There are things we won’t be able to do this summer. Kids will miss on the experiences of overnight camps and canoe trips. Plans for family trips have been set aside. We haven’t even been to a restaurant for weeks and weeks. And these are the concerns of the fortunate ones of us who are healthy, who have not lost dear ones to COVID-19, and who don’t take our lives in our hands by risk of exposure in our daily work. These are the concerns of those of us who have homes to sequester in. Lots to lament, and lamenting certainly has its place. There is plenty of lament in the psalms, but it comes alongside these expressions of gratefulness and praise. Lamenting by itself doesn’t do much to lift our spirits. There are two things that I love about this line from the psalm. One is that it calls us to the positive. The other is that it turns our attention to God… reminds us that there is a presence greater than ourselves that we can turn to. And there are many positives in these times. Beginning, in a world where we are unable to look to distant places or events for our fun, with being forced to notice the blessings right at hand. A family meal can feel special when no one is rushing off. Neighbours have more time to stop and chat – from a distance of course. I know I am not the only one improving my bread making skills, and so far I have spent three Sunday evenings baking delicious treats with a Zoom group from church. Even though most of us complained when it snowed in Toronto in the middle of May, the magnolias, the crab apples, and now the lilacs have been so lovely this spring. I am not sure if they are truly more lovely than usual, or if they just seem that way because it is such a relief to see the beauty of the season unfolding in a time when so much feels different. Either way, (why analyze it?), they bring joy. Yesterday my neighbour called to tell me that there was a fawn in her flower garden right at the front of the house. Of course I went right over, and there was a tiny creature, maybe just a day or two old, a sweet, tender symbol of the renewal of life. It brought to mind for me the line from a beloved hymn that tells us that God sees even a little sparrow that falls. (The fawn was there all day, but later when I went over in the dark to check, it was gone. Its mother, who had left it in that safe place all day, had come back and led it somewhere else for the night.)     We had another simple joy in our family yesterday when my niece shared her son’s excitement at losing his first tooth! Yes, I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. Or at least I will do my best!   Blessings,   Nora Nora Sanders is General Secretary of The United Church of Canada.