Th Gifts of the Magi

As Epiphany came and went this year I found myself thinking about the story of the magi and the gifts that they brought to the baby Jesus, gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts were harbingers of who Jesus was: gold was a symbol of kingship, frankincense (an incense) a symbol of a deity, and myrrh (an embalming oil) a symbol of death. Then I began to wonder what gifts the last two years under COVID-19 had brought with it. And there have been many gifts - most of them disrupting our lives and our livelihoods. But not all!

And we are still learning from them.

There is the gift of patience which as the saying goes is seldom found in women and never in a man. If we have learned nothing else from COVID it is that we need to have patience, that as the top doctors say it will end one day and until that time all we can do is to have patience.

A second gift we have received is a new appreciation of the importance of friends. ZOOM chats, phone calls, emails and texting have eased the burden of the long dreary days.

The third gift is being forced to live in the moment. No more are calendars filled events and appointments for weeks in advance. With the changing faces of COVID a week is a long time to plan anything. We are learning to seize any and every opportunity to grab a coffee with a friend outside or to meet for lunch on a patio. Work can wait, but in-person contact with others is our life blood and needs to be prioritized.

So while the gifts of the wise men were gold, frankincense and myrrh, the gifts of COVID-19 are patience, the appreciation of friends, and living in the moment. May we never forget these gifts long after COVID-19 is but a faint memory.

Comments

Judy ImrieJanuary 13, 2022 at 9:26 AM
Thanks Lynn for your blog...for reminding me to look for the Gifts of The Magi in this upside down season that never seems to end....but it will indeed. Yesterday another friend reminded me that Hope is better than optimism and that in turn reminded me of this quote by William Arthur Ward...."The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sail." So we sail on,,,,into whatever weather before we find the shore knowing that God sails with us...Emmanuel, Emmanuel...God with us....God with us.

Judy Imrie

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