A few years ago Sandra and I visited New York. It was the one year anniversary of 9/11 and the city was commemorating, grieving and celebrating the bravery and the spirit of New Yorkers to keep on going and rebuild. One of the moving things I remember from that time were the fences that had been covered with simple pictures, drawings, letters and prayers from children all over the country. The presence of these children’s art and prayers helped bring a sense of hope and people were clearly moved as they walked slowly by to read them. After the September earthquake here some ‘guerrilla knitters’ put up knitted signs of hope on fences around our city. Again these simple acts encouraged people. The night after 9/11 two search lights shone up into the night sky marking where the Twin Towers had been. In the next few weeks we all need to see and make symbols of hope like these. They may be as simple as a child’s picture stuck on a fence, a word knitted onto a blanket, a letter or email of encouragement to someone, a home baked meal or cake dropped into a friend in need. The ways of symbolising hope are numerous and we all need to see them and help make them.
Human psychology is now telling us how important to our health and wellbeing are acts of compassion and hope. It seems that when we act compassionately towards others and act to inspire hope we too are positively affected. Now this makes great Biblical sense as well as good human psychology. For our own spiritual health we all need to make deliberate choices to act with compassion towards others and to offer hope to others. Doing so will help us recover as much as it will help others.
I went to grocery shop on the way home tonight and in the car park met a guy in a high visibility jacket with ‘City Care’ written on it. He looked sun burnt, tired and was covered in dust and dirt. I stopped in front of him and said ‘thank you for all you guys are doing out here for us’. Immediately he looked up and said, as only a kiwi bloke can, ‘it has to be done, someone has to get amongst it’. I thanked him again. as i left the supermarket he was driving out. With a smile he wound down the window and stuck his arm out waved and smiled. I felt better and he obviously did too.
But we also need to act with compassion for ourselves and give ourselves time to connect with symbols of hope. Jesus told us to ‘love our neighbours as ourselves’. Please take time to care for you today. To allow yourself some moments of self compassion. Please take time to connect with words of scripture, music or art that will inspire hope in you today. In a new city of huge pain, brokenness and uncertainty we need to be compassionate with ourselves and find meaningful symbols of hope more than ever. On Sunday I read from Psalm 23 which includes the line ‘He alloweth me to lie down in green pastures”. By this David was saying God allows me to lie down in Green pastures. God allows you too. Can you allow yourself to take some rest, to connect with words and symbols of hope that will refresh and renew you. From this base you can speak and act with compassion and offer hope to others.
Take care of yourself and others today and look for and make small symbols of hope.
God be with you
alan
