Opportunities to get together and celebrate events as a community, such as the recent Toronto Beaches Lions Easter Parade, are the activities that so many people have been missing during the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to remember to be grateful for such moments, writes Rev. Angela J. Cluney of Fallingbrook Presbyterian Church in this edition of Open Doors: Spiritual Matters. Photo by Donna Braybrook.
By REV. ANGELA J. CLUNEY
The recent Easter weekend was extra special this year. I believe it could be defined as such as it was our most recent attempt at normal life.
It was finally the opportunity for family, friends and neighbours to join together for in-person gatherings, worship services, and even the annual Beaches Easter Parade without the extreme worries we all have been carrying.
The return of these activities reminded me of what we have missed over the hiatus of normal life that COVID-19 brought us for two years. The smiles, cheers and greetings I saw people giving each other at the activities on the Easter weekend showed how much was missed by so many recently.
The ability to gather together with those we care about, support each other and be within our communities were indeed wonders of life that we must never take for granted again.
The ability to be together (yes, even in masks), in relationship and with our individual communities is a blessed gift. It is also something that not everyone can enjoy freely when we look to those around our world who are suffering!
Our ability to come together in fun and faithful ways, while also supporting one another, our community and our places of worship is a blessing we should never take for granted.
This is important and should not be ignored as the world faces the terror of the war in Ukraine, the rise in the refugee crisis and the continued impact of COVID-19. We must aim to live in ways which show our gratefulness for the life that we can each enjoy.
We are given daily this opportunity to show this gratefulness, not just on special occasions like Easter. We can daily share our faith without worry, we can celebrate holidays with those we care about and we can simply be together at fun events, such as the Easter parade.
Through each of these activities, we are called to live our lives in a way that shows our gratefulness through gracious and kind ways.
Spiritual teacher and author Eckhardt Tolle wrote: “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”
So as we attempt to return to normal life, as we come together to enjoy the fun and important moments we are blessed to live, may we also act in ways that show our eternal gratefulness.
May our abundance in life allow us to reach out to support each other, and to create opportunities which build up this foundation we live in amazing and transforming ways that will bless each of us!
Rev. Angela J. Cluney is with Fallingbrook Presbyterian Church.
