Singing in the Midst of Adversity

Dear Friend,
In the midst of  the worst trials of my life, I've found myself singing.  Not because I have a beautiful voice.  I do not.  Not because  I'm great at remembering lyrics.  I am not.   Not because I play the guitar like our rockin' onstage sister.  I don't.

I sing because I am a child of God and  my Heavenly Father  likes hearing me ... and likes hearing you, too.   And Ioves it when we sing with and to each other.  Our songs can bring us hope and courage and comfort and inspiration.  Our voices can keep us connected in love to one another.

A Franciscan friar in Ireland recently wrote an inspiring poem along these lines.  Here is a portion of Brother Richard Hendrick's poem, "Lockdown" :

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan  after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares.
...All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting.
All over the world people are looking at their neighbors in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
...So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing.
Spring is coming.
And we are always encompassed by love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.

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