Blog

Resurrection

As the 40 days of the Christian Lenten season come to a close, we are reminded of a quote by Helen Keller: “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”  

We at The Babbling Brook find hope in this sentiment, because of late, so many people are struggling, our own residents and staff included. There are health issues, emotional hurts, anxiousness, and worry. There is fatigue, a feeling of stagnancy, bitter discord, and discomfort in our own skin. In short, we are suffering, and we are in deep need of resurrection.

“We will gather in community (a triumph in itself!) to feel the Spirit, the same one that hovered over the waters, just before light was brought into being”

Suffering and resurrection are central themes of the human condition, and at Willow Brook, Holy Week is a time when we honor and acknowledge this. Our chaplain, Adam Metz, will share campus-wide video messages on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Each of our campuses have events planned for these holy days as well as special services on Easter Sunday. We will gather in community (a triumph in itself!) to feel the Spirit, the same one that hovered over the waters, just before light was brought into being. A light that has not always felt present in the dark days of the past two years.

Only in hindsight will we see the history we have lived through in regard to the pandemic. We have held ourselves and our families together, MacGyver-like, with duct tape and chewing gum. Now we must acknowledge that going through times like these produce after-effects, and we are starting to feel those now. We must give ourselves permission to say that we are not okay, that our bodies and souls are weary and require deep care.

But the world still turns. Children and aging parents need cared for. House payments and rents need to be paid. We have to get up and go to work, or take our pills, or go to class, or make breakfast, or get ready for an appointment. If you can relate, and the rest and renewal you need are hard to come by, may we suggest you start small:

• That wind blowing outside? A reminder to just breathe.
• Those plans you made that did not pan out? The opportunity for a new way
  to see.
• The sharp words you spoke in frustration? The chance to apologize and  practice empathy. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you
  know nothing about.” 

Resurrection is coming. A restoration of life—of our lives. It is an ongoing process. It is, and has always been, fueled by Love; Love who finds a way when there is no way:

“Behold, I am doing a new thing;

     now it springs forth, do you not

         perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness,

     and rivers in the desert.”

(Isaiah: 43:19)

The brook on our Delaware Run campus, the namesake for the The Babbling Brook Blog.