Covid 19 confined us to our homes in 2020 and we’ve been spiraling to gain some sense of normalcy since. One of our greatest fears, death, has become this era’s greatest tutor. With it we learned how to shun procrastination when someone crosses our mind and immediately reach out to them. We learned how to be grateful for people, places, and things we once took for granted and we learned just how fragile life is.
The pandemic with all the death, fear, confusion, violence, and loss brought with it creativity, opportunities, and wisdom for those of us that were willing to fight through the haze of it all and grasp hope. Scripture, adages, songs, and even nursey rhymes became revelatory as we learned to “shape-shift” to survive.
One scripture comes to mind that brought clarity on several levels and offered a fresh perspective regarding loss, St. John 12:24 KJV.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
Many of us have suffered multiple losses over the past couple of years, including loss of life, sobriety, jobs, homes, health, and relationships. All of it has been enough to poke holes in our faith and rob us of our peace of mind.
But hope is interwoven throughout those words in St. John 12:24. Verily, verily denotes that this is divine information. Except…unless a corn or kernel of wheat falls and dies it will not multiply. This is not referring to sacrifice a life for a life but more like another explanation of the circle of life.
The Gospel music artist Donnie McClurkin sings a portion of Proverbs 24:16, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again…” We fall down but we get up. The nursey rhyme reminded us of how Humpty Dumpty the egg, had a great fall and couldn’t be put back together again.
I’m suggesting that we practice a little cognitive restructuring here amidst all of the angst and anxiety we have grown accustomed to and accept that we all must eventually fall but we can and hopefully will, get back up again. Some falls maybe so great that our lives are scrambled beyond repair, but we can and hopefully will take what we have and create something new. Remember, no matter how hard you fall or how many times you fall, life will continue for many of us and I’d like to suggest life more abundantly as every corn of wheat that falls can become productive.
Let’s remember to take what the last couple of years has taught us and chose to live, to flourish, and to MULTIPLY!