Jacob was left alone;
and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.
...
Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking."
But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’
But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’
Genesis 32:24-26
As we are left alone, we all struggle with something, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. The story of Jacob encourages us to hold on, continue to wrestle, and seek out the blessings which can only be found through confronting the pain. We, individually, as a country and as a world community, will be different when we have prevailed against this virus. What that will look like will depend upon what blessings we have gathered.
I wrote this on my blog on March 30th, when our social isolation was still new. A month later, as people begin to demand that our society reopen, we need to ask ourselves what blessings have we received? What have we learned? Are we truly ready for whatever is next? Or, do we need to continue wrestling with separation and all that entails until we are ready to move on?
And remember, while Jacob was blessed with a new name, he walked away with a limp.
I wrote this on my blog on March 30th, when our social isolation was still new. A month later, as people begin to demand that our society reopen, we need to ask ourselves what blessings have we received? What have we learned? Are we truly ready for whatever is next? Or, do we need to continue wrestling with separation and all that entails until we are ready to move on?
And remember, while Jacob was blessed with a new name, he walked away with a limp.
