The shadows were growing longer in the late afternoon. My eyes followed the lines to the horizon, even as the memories of boogeymen, danger, and warnings from my childhood drifted in and out. They were uninvited snippets from the past, each with its tale, many linked to periods of darkness and fear.
I knew I was safe, at least today. There was nobody within my sight lines. I was certain that no one was hiding, waiting to pounce. There were many reasons to be confident in my feelings of safety. As I thought of the culture in the Emirates, the community’s norms, and how these came together in daily living, the shadows around me began to fade. Even with the growing assurance in my heart and mind, I knew not everyone had the same experience. For every member of the community, is there a calling that spills over and into today?
I live in a community. In a post-Covid world, it often feels like I am alone and isolated. There are days that everything is brought to me instead of me to them. Even as I find myself slipping into periods of isolation, I find myself looking beyond the immediate to the sight of the community in action.
There is an invitation, a calling, to be involved. From billboards and signs in motion to the movement of cars and anticipating faces, the invitation to be part of the community is there. It often feels easier to avoid it all by hiding out. When one is bold, taking the risk to be involved, everything changes. A writer reminds me “That’s exactly what Jesus did. He didn’t make it easy for himself by avoiding people’s troubles, but waded right in and helped out. “I took on the troubles of the troubled,” is the way Scripture puts it.” (Romans 15.3)
Each moment of the day is an opportunity to make a difference. Starting with a caring heart, it finds life in our words and actions. The invitation to step out of the shadows and into the light is here.
