In recent months, all of us have faced one of the biggest storms imaginable. This storm has affected our lives on a personal, social, national, and global level. The COVID-19 pandemic has left devastation in its wake. Not unlike a similar, yet different, tragedy the world suffered in 2001.
I lived under twenty miles from New York City on 9/11. Lifelong friends lost family members – brothers, sisters, parents. Others lost themselves watching the devastation unfold right before their eyes. Lives were permanently changed that day – a day forever seared into our hearts.
9/11 proved to be a time of renewal. People greeted, smiled, and opened their hearts. Intolerance was at a low. Respect at an all-time high. People unified. Over the last 20 years, this unification has been forgotten but with one constant. God! He has been standing by our sides.
The storm we are facing will have different outcomes for each of us – loss, fear, anxiety. Walking through this storm remember that God has not left us. So let us, spread love, sympathy, empathy, and compassion so we can change the world.
“When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person that walked in. That’s what the storm is all about.”
~ Haruki Murakami ~
