One year

A year ago this week, everything changed. We left worship on Sunday, March 15, 2020 not knowing when we'd be able to gather again. As the weeks stretched into months, we adapted and adjusted - online worship, weekly mailings, outdoor visits, curbside communion, take-home bags for Christmas and Lent. We adapted and adjusted, and yet I don't think any of us imagined that we'd still be apart a year later.

Trauma anniversaries are hard, whether the trauma is the death of someone close to you, a natural disaster, a violent event, or something else. Sometimes, your body remembers before you do that an anniversary is approaching. You may notice yourself feeling sad or irritable or anxious and wonder why.

CHIRAG K on Unsplash

The added layer of grief and difficulty in the anniversary we're approaching this week is that we're still not on the other side of things. We've barely had a chance to really reflect and process and grieve the original trauma, let alone marking the anniversary. We are still not able to gather together in worship or share meals together. School and work and family gatherings are still disrupted, and it's been far too long since we've been able to hug the people we love, or even see their whole faces.

Even as we grieve, there are so many reasons to also be hopeful. Warmer weather and sunshine are on the way; more and more folks are receiving vaccines; the CDC has announced that vaccinated folks may gather, unmasked and indoors, with one other household (even if that household is unvaccinated, but low risk).

As we mark a year of pandemic life, we cling tightly to God's promises - that we are loved, that we are never alone, and that not even death can separate us from God's love. Perhaps you may find it meaningful to take a moment this week to pause, light a candle, and reflect as you pray this prayer from Pastor Traci Smith:

A Prayer Marking One Year of Pandemic Life, for All Ages

By Traci Smith

God you are with us all the time. All the time you are with us.

Today we remember. We remember how things used to be. We remember how many things we have gone through. We remember things we missed and people we lost.

Today we hope. We hope for healing. We hope for vaccines. We hope for wisdom.

Today we share. We share smiles with one another. We share our joys and our sorrows. We share or dreams for the future.

God you are with us, all the time. All the time, you are with us. Be with us as we remember, hope, and share. Amen.

. . .

Be gentle with yourself this week. This year has been traumatic in so many ways, and our delayed and unprocessed grief will continue to reveal itself, sometimes in strange ways. Take time to rest, breathe, and feel. You are loved!

Bonus resources:

* Printable coloring pages with prayers for marking a year of COVID-19.