Have you ever felt overwhelmed at the enormity of a challenge? Did you wonder how a goal could be accomplished? I certainly have.
Currently we’re all facing a silent threat as a new virulent virus spreads illness and death among us. It’s easy to shrink back into our familiar shells and shrug our shoulders. After all, we’re not trained to deal with the highly complicated medical and scientific testing needed to stamp this destructive force out. We’re too old, infirm, young, uneducated, busy (or any other reason we’ve used) for not doing more than handle home and family challenges within our bubbles.
There are many heroes on the front lines, fighting infection, stocking shelves, processing food and medications, transporting vital goods. We are blessed by selfless individuals who are co-ordinating relief services, volunteering to fetch and carry for the frail. We have entire nations turned upside down by new restrictions imposed; things that may cramp our lifestyles and expected freedoms. This is a taste of self sacrifice for the common good. The very least we can do is conform uncomplaining to the limited access to goods and services, and the isolation required to crush Covid.
We’ve seen great leadership and honest disclosure from our government and leaders. We have received wise advice and evaluations from those experts in the field, working behind the scenes and on the front line. I rejoice to see co-operation instead of niggling snipes between political parties. Our nation always works better when we face a common ‘enemy;’ be that warfare, horrific wildfires, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, volcanic eruptions or viral pandemics. My prayer is that we will harness this same attitude of humility and act for the great good of our country and our world long after Covid dies.
A sweet gentleman aged 99 didn’t shrink from his offering assistance to his country. Captain Tom Moore , a World War 2 veteran who served in India, and the Burma Campaigns, decided to raise some money for the hugely over-worked staff of the National Health Service. With his walking stick slung over the front of his walking frame, he began slowly hobbling daily lengths of his garden. Hoping to raise five hundred pounds, he vowed to walk a hundred lengths, while his daughter organised donations.
Brits have been gathering at their gates for weeks now, every evening at 8pm; clanging pot lid cymbals, banging pots with spoons, clapping, singing and drawing attention to the sterling service sector fighting Covid 19, and showing their appreciation . Captain Tom, wearing his war medals, continues to walk every day. His goal of raising a thousand pounds is long past. On April 14, Tom achieved his initial target of one hundred laps, watched by a guard of honour from his First Battalion of the Yorkshire Regiment. They lined his yard (at a safe distance from each other) to salute the old veteran and honour him. At today’s count of donations for Captain Tom’s challenge, over 19 million pounds has been donated by a country grateful for the selfless service personnel keeping our world moving through this crisis.
So, can one person make a difference? My answer is a resounding “Yes!” Generous people want to make a difference. Tom gave them a vehicle in which to funnel funds. He is the catalyst for providing well-being packs for NHS staff, facilitating rest and recuperation rooms, devices to enable
hospital patients to keep in contact with family members, and community groups who support patients once they are discharged from hospital. Although that is a lot of money, a lot more will be required to truly make a difference to those whose extraordinary courage and hard work is easing our predicament in this pandemic.
What can each of us do to help? Pray, seek God, encourage our families and be good neighbours. We can be obedient to the authorities in their efforts to stamp out this scourge. We can make phone calls, write letters, offer hope and help to those worse off than ourselves. We can give thanks, even in this strange new world of restrictions, because God will never leave us or forsake us. He wants us to be His light-carriers in dark places, so let’s wipe the dust from our lamps, and shine brightly for Him.
“Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven”
Rose Francis
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