11×14 oil
It had been raining for about a week – a week of “social distancing.” As an artist, I’m very comfortable with being alone in the zone. But it was the lack of sunshine that was about to pull me under.
The fog was thick from the moment I opened the window blinds that morning, yet beautiful, in a peaceful kind of way. The fog hovered until mid afternoon. The weather forecast for the next week said plenty of sun and heat! I couldn’t wait. I knew that “this too, shall pass.” And I felt, hope.
I had heard the words before. “This too, shall pass” are reassuring words. Mammy had said them to me last week as we talked on the phone about the crazy state of things.
We are looking for reassuring words in these very different days. Corona Virus, Social Distancing, Shelter in Place, Essential/Non-Essential …have all been added to our vocabularies. But the reassuring words, the familiar, encouraging words, are the ones we all want to hear.
We know that this too, shall pass. We want it to happen quickly, suddenly, instantly, over and done. But most things don’t happen that way. The challenge for us is to hang on to the ancient words, the words of promise, while we wait for it to pass. Words like trust, faith, abide, prayer, encourage, redemption, eternal. These are the words we cling to and share, as we wait…with hope.