Remembering*
2020
IN MID-SEPTEMBER
—
SIX WEEKS INTO M presided at the fune Y FIRST CALL—I ral of one of my sess ion members. My leg walked up and down s ached as I the stairs of the chan cel, and as I preached in short, intentiona I had to speak l sentences. These re sidual effects were fa death. I had contract r better than ed the virus from th e man in the coffin a when we delivered fo m onth earlier od to the working po or in our small town Missouri. And as I co in southwest mmended his body to the earth, I silently why it wasn't me. questioned My legs still ache an d my sentences have slowly grown in lengt it will be until I am h, but I wonder how back to my pre-COVI long D life. I wonder how the four or five mile lo ng it will be until I can wa s a day I used to, or lk can preach with long how long it will be be , eloquent sentences. fore my partner and I wo nd er I can smile and rem we worried and prep ember fondly those ared for my possible we ek s wh de en at h. I wonder how long get back to those da it will be before we ca ys—those days way n back in February wh news. Those days wh en the virus was but en we could eat at pa a bl ip in the ck ed restaurants and shak we could see each ot e hands … those days her’s smiles and wors when hip together … thos My hands have e days when life was been forced into mot “n or m al. io ” n as this virus has settled of life around me wh in the cracks and crev ere “normal” is no lo ices nger the norm. As m days not so long ago, uch as I long for thos I honestly don’t thin e no rm al k I wo uld want to go back to go back, because . I don’t think I woul we have all been forc d want ed to think about th for so long. We have in gs th at we have shuffled had to wrestle with aside what pro-life truly m what a confessing an eans. We have had to d communing body wr es tle with looks like. We have of technology in wo had to wrestle with rship and how we ca bo th the use n use technology to wrestle with end-of provide worship. We -life plans, with trus ha ve had to ting the unknown, an we just don’t like. W d with praying for th e have been forced to ose people care for our neighbor for the things we ha s, care for our church ve ignored for too lo , and care ng. In some strange way, I am thankful fo r this virus and the the standing-still. It ways in which it has has forced us all to do moved us, something. We mus we have known; we t commend to the ea must begin to hope rth what for something new, but for our lives as we not only for the life ll. I pray that we can of th e church embrace Paul’s word always rejoicing ” (2 s of being “sorrowful Cor. 6:10) by mourn , yet ing the losses of peop simultaneously rejo le and things around icing in the resurrec us while tion and in the resu rrection to come. – The Rev. Sheth La Rue (MDiv’20) Pastor, First Presby terian Church, Auro ra, Missouri
Photo: Thomas Elliott / CC
Winter 2021 | 11
