Changing the Hard Things in Life
In the past week, I have heard a number of people tell how their lives have turned around with Covid. In each case, the situation they found themselves in was not good. Loss of work, having to move in with people who were difficult, differing ways in which their lives were harshly constricted happened t them…and still is, to some extent. But these people have made a way through the pain to something good which they wouldn’t have had without Covid.
This week the Church celebrates the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross. At its heart, this Feast says that good came come out of bad. Jesus’ Death was a release of the creative life and love of God made visible in his Resurrection. It is a sign of hope to us. What seems more helpless than an ignominious death on a cross but Jesus made even that a source of life.
So, what did the people, whose stories I heard in this past week, do. Firstly, they recognised they had options. Too often, when we are suffering in a hard place, we think we are helpless. But we are not. If we start thinking of all the different things we could do, and especially the crazy funny wild things we could do (but which we know we would never do), we give God room to move. We let our imagination in, and our sense of humour, and we give ourselves permission to change. As we implement the change that is positive for us, we actually even get space within ourselves to have compassion for the people who may be causing us grief. Yes, we find ourselves loving people who do unlovable things – without compromising our integrity. This is the best change we can have in our lives: learning to let life and love rise in what feels like the dead places in our lives.
Sr Kym Harris osb