Response To Confusing Times

  Five years ago, on a beautiful evening in Colorado, we opened our windows to a refreshing breeze of mountain air.  We listened to the stillness, interrupted by the distinct sounds of howling.  We stepped outside.  It is not entirely unusual for coyotes to howl in the open spaces of the Front Range that sweep up to the foothills and the towering snow-capped mountains.  But these howls were coming from the wrong direction. They were echoing from the streets of our neighborhood.

 What we were hearing was a phenomenon that swept our nation during Covid.  People emerged from their “stay at home” shelters at 8 PM in the evening and howled!  For some it was a protest, a way to “let off steam” from being cooped up and shut in. But for most it was a way of connecting with strangers and shouting support for those who continued working on the “front lines” of the coronavirus crisis. 

 The next day this message appeared in our neighborhood blog: “I work in the Emergency Department for UC Health.  … Last night as I parked in our garage, I heard a riot of howls from around our neighborhood … I want each of you howlers to know that your support helped lift the tired heart and soul of someone who somedays wonders if what I did was enough.  Last night it brought a tear to my eyes and a big lump in my throat.  It is a pleasure to be your neighbor, and an honor to help support our community.” 

 Covid taught us to stick together, encourage one another and care for our neighbor.  During these confusing days of 2025, we need to remember that lesson.  Last night I went outside after dark to put out our trash.  While standing in the driveway, an Amazon van pulled up and stopped.  A young woman came bouncing out and handed me a package my wife had ordered. I thanked her for doing her job and making the delivery. She gushed her thanks.

 While she made a few more stops at the end of our cul-de-sac, my neighbors across the street called my name.  Their 2-year-old daughter knows me.  When the Amazon driver stopped again across the street, I urged them to join me, all 5 of them: the 2-year-old, her mother, grandmother, grandfather and their snow-white bulldog, Rooney.  We gathered around as she returned from our neighbor’s porch.  I told her we were a “committee” from the neighborhood to thank her for delivering our packages. She melted in appreciation and said we made her day.

 During these trying times, countless people continue going about their jobs: making deliveries, serving fast food, stocking the stores, hauling off our trash, repairing our streets, keeping the wheels turning.  Thousands of government workers showed up for two months without pay. The one thing we all can do every day in every circumstance is encourage each other.

 We need to heed the instruction of Scripture: “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you are doing” (1 Thess. 5:11).  “Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5).