Connection

It's been over two months since I've seen my parents who live in Queensland.  They visited during the week that Covid hit Australia, and thankfully they crossed the border for home just in time.  My sister & husband had just started their 'family trip of a lifetime' around Australia and had made it to South Australia when they found out the borders were closing.  A day later they just made it across the WA border where they 'camped out' for 5 weeks. My other sister and her husband are nurses - they were on the frontline.  Like so many other health professionals they went to work every day when the country was unsure how invasive the health crisis would become.

Thank God for wise decisions at the helm.  

Thank God for wise leaders - they need our prayers.

I'm just one of so many who haven't had any face to face contact with their loved ones.  By now I would have wrapped my arms around my three older children and my two grand-babies - a few times over....  

Well I would have - pre hand sanitising / mask wearing / distance measuring / spot standing / no hugging (you get the picture)... when hugging & being close to someone was a very real part of connection.

                                               

I'm a hugger.  I love connecting with people....  

Yet this new season has forced the huggers to stand back and learn a new type of normal. I've had to (many times) stop 'huggers' as they race hands outstretched to an unsuspecting 'huggee' who doesn't even have time to create a Covid 'non hug' barrier.  

Touch comes naturally for those people. Yet they are learning a new normal. (so non-huggers please be patient!)

The last day I spent with my Dad we sat on the park bench at Wallabi Point. It's in the perfect position to enjoy the panoramic views of the beach & ocean.  It's under a huge pine-tree on top of the headland and such a perfect spot to chat and enjoy the moment.  I took Dad there as we went for a stroll together - arm in arm.  I also had a feeling this might be the last time we chatted together for a while, in person anyway.   We talked about all sort of things, then just sat in comfortable silence.

Maybe that's why I took the photo.  I didn't want to forget the ordinary but beautiful moment of being there with my Dad.  Right there, right then.  

I've realised more and more since then how important our connections are with each other.  Even for those families members that aren't as close - not in proximity but in heart connection - they are still a part of our family.  And I believe even the most fractured relationship is not impossible to mend.

I've thought about our church family - and although we are not together face to face we are still connected in some way.  We are still connected members of the body of Christ.

I've also thought about the power of the moment.  How you can connect heart to heart with someone through words, through gifts, through prayer, through a simple act of love.

A moment in time is fleeting & sometimes you don't even realise how special it is until it's a memory. But I'm learning to cherish those times & not wish the ordinary days away.

Connection with God, connection with others.  They are treasures we need to fight to keep front & centre.   

And at the centre of these connections is love - Gods love. It's the glue that keeps us connected despite distance, misunderstandings, fears, silence, Covid restrictions ...

Every story is different for every person. You have your own story and whether close or far your own connections.  But don't forget to make the most of the present moments - those who are in your life right now. 

Because they are gifts from heaven.

"Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory"

                                                                                                                            Dr Seuss

"Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.

And the best of these three is love"  1 Corinthians 13:13