As we took our morning walk on Saturday, a truck pulled up beside us and rolled down the window to tell our five-year-old how well he was riding without his training wheels. It was a neighbor who always seemed to be heading out while we were passing by. He has witnessed the transition from walking, to riding with training wheels, and now to riding without training wheels. This neighbor isn’t the only one who has witnessed this. Others often wave from six feet away to tell our five-year-old how well he’s doing.
They are witnesses to our morning walk, to the way we have grown and changed over this past year.
And so are each of us.
We are witnesses to what it means to live in a pandemic. We are witnesses to the way your life can change over the course of the weekend with schools and works all closing at the same time. We are witnesses to the ways we can adapt and change and learn and grow even under the most difficult circumstances.
We are witnesses to the grief of so many. We are witnesses to over 400,000 souls lost.
We are witnesses to anger and hatred and the way it can lead to even trying to take power even when power has been given to someone else. We are witnesses to the fear and uncertainty we have carried over the past week, over the months, over the past year wondering if we would ever be able to see our families and loved ones again.
And we are witnesses to whatever today may hold. May we enter today with open eyes and open hearts.