A restful pause from our hectic days

November Poem Day 7: 

A restful pause from our hectic days

The pandemic slammed all of us,
put us on notice that pandemics
are not to be messed with.
We all suffered some sort of loss,
some tragic, some simple,
and some that just linger on.
Yet, no matter the loss,
we felt it, lived it, and became it.
Some of us climbed within ourselves;
others went hiking, took photos,
wrote poetry, put together puzzles;
others just worked harder,
kept their nose to the grind;
still, others remodeled their houses,
learned how to garden, stepped up
their certifications and knowledge via YouTube
Many took advantage, learned how
to become better than they ever had been—
and so many other things.

Throughout history, it appears,
pandemics disrupted families,
took lives, blindfolded many
into thinking that nothing could be done.
Yet, the world banded together,
the market soared.
Takeout from every eating source
became the thing that everyone did.
Dial a number. Food arrived.
Amazon and others of its ilk
also thrived. Just click on a box,
share your credit card numbers,
and in a few days, it arrived.
We never had to leave the house.
Just walk outside on the porch,
and there was whatever we ordered.

It’s a shame, though, that we cannot just order
a life with less pain and anguish,
a life with fewer heartaches,
a life with less anxiety or depression,
a life with less of anything that doth beset us,
or a life with more happiness,
a life filled with fewer cares and bills,
more of a life with a holistic view
of what we can do to climb out
of our abysses of darkness and despair,
yes, even more of a life filled with a restful pause.

But it was the Savior who invited us
to a better, more restful life, free
from the challenges that have overwhelmed us,
no matter what our lives have become:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
All we have to do, He promised,
is to “Take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me….For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.”
His final words bring peace to us:
“…and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Finally, a restful pause from our hectic days.

November 7, 2022