Waiting with Courage

Colleen Spiro and her husband refuse to give in to quarantine fatigue, drawing on the reserves of their faith as they wait.

It is a rainy day. We have had a lot of rainy days the past week or so. Today I saw a huge turtle walking around the other side of the lake. And there are a lot of ducks. Go figure.

We left our quarantine and traveled the other day. A deacon’s wife had passed away. We were in diaconate formation with them (in a way, deacons’ wives are in formation too.) Our hearts were broken. We just had to go.

The parish handled the safe distancing needs well. Number of people in the pews were limited. Only one person or a couple at each end. Every other pew was closed. Everyone wore a mask. 

There were lines on the floor telling us where to stand when in line for Communion. Hosts were placed in our hands without touching. No wine.

Our state’s numbers of people diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus are now going back up. We continue to stay home (except for our major bimonthly grocery shopping). I am tired of it, but I refuse to give in to that fatigue as others have done. 

The reasons are simple. I want to watch my young grandchildren grow up. I want to watch my grandson get married next year. I want my husband and I to die of old age. Very old age.

My two youngest sons show us pictures and videos of what our grandchildren are doing. Our youngest granddaughter (who was born last August) is growing like crazy. We have been able to watch her advance from being a newborn to being a baby who feeds herself and crawls and laughs at her parents’ antics and loves seeing us through the camera. 

And so we wait. It is a busy waiting. It is a drawn-out waiting. But we have no choice. So we put all of our frustrations in the hands of the Lord and keep on “keeping on.”

Wait for the LORD, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the LORD! (Psalm 27:14)

It is a busy waiting. It is a drawn-out waiting. But we have no choice. #catholicmom

Copyright 2020 Colleen Spiro
Image: By Andrea Piacquadio (Pexels, 2020)