20-22 Covid-19 Daily Reflections

  We talk about severe snow storms as if they are new phenomena. We live in Canada, and that is part of winter. Sometimes, I am more concerned when it is not snowing in the winter. When the expected is not happening, it is more disconcerting. Our minds start speculating about all of the reasons that might be behind it. The same principle may apply   when it comes to human rights. We fight for the equality and the dignity of all men and women while denying the reality of sin. Somehow we believe that we can overcome our brokenness just by having a political movement, an economic system, or some incredible socio-economics thesis. Let us take a look at how we deal with our environmental problems. We know that the human need for consumption is a real challenge for our environment. We all consume more than we need, and yet, we claim that we can protect the environment from ourselves. We talk about stopping using a specific resource or product. We have not allowed ourselves oppo...

There were many feelings and thoughts as I left a meeting with someone who just lost her son, suspectedly because of drug addiction. The mother was full of anguish as she was struggling with many questions. Some of them were for God. Some of them were about the circumstances of his death. Some of them were about the relationship between her and her son. There were not too many answers or answers that make sense. My experiences told me that I just needed to listen and to be fully present in my silence. I knew that I needed to let myself feel what the mother was going through. That is how I can be immersed in the depth of her pain. Whenever we are able to do that with someone who suffers, we might become more aware of God's amazing grace. She told me as I was about to leave after an hour or so that she was thankful that I came. Though she didn't understand what happened, she felt God's presence for the first time in many years. That was what I prayed for in my silence. Yeste...

"Paradise Lost" is the word I am looking for while thinking about what is going on. Many people seem to be unhappy these days. The most current issue in Canada now is the lack of vaccines. The blames are flying, anything from lack of planning, incompetence, and momentary disruption. Patience is not there, and the need "to have it now" seems to be the key among some people. Life without fear of Covid-19 is that new paradise for them. However, we don't seem to understand that life won't be smooth even with the vaccines. The paradise has been lost a long time ago. We need to resist the temptation to take away vaccines that have been allocated for poor and underdeveloped countries. It will be a sad commentary of humanity if that happens. When we are going through a trying time, we need to rise above the slavery of self-serving. We might believe in the deception that Canada deserves better. I don't think things work that way in the economy of God. It might b...

        It took a while for society and the business world to acknowledge the seriousness of mental health. We could not face and deal with illnesses we didn't understand. People can have a "normal appearance" while suffering from mental health conditions. Now we acknowledge that there is suffering even though we do not see it. We might approach evil things in the world the same way. We are willing to call something evil and wrong when it is ugly and not civilized. We seem to face a much more difficult task while dealing with the civility of evil. The niceness of evil does not mean it is not. Maybe we are just so deceived and cannot see it. Recently, some politicians accused anti-abortion folks that they are selling out democracy because some supported the previous president. That is a convenient way to get their pro-abortion bill passed by the House of Representatives. Abortion is a human right issue. It is more than just the right of a woman over her own body. Many...

  I had a conversation with a banker friend, and she told me that working from home starts getting old. She is itchy getting back to work in the office. She needs social interaction and contact with others. She feels restless. It could be that things have not been as busy as it used to be for her. In the Bible, there is some writing about being restless and anxious about life. "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its trouble." -  Matthew 6: 33-34 We become restless because we are bored, unsettled, and need to search for something new. What does it mean to seek first the Kingdom of God during this time? Be aware of our preoccupation and concerns about this life. If we spend too much time worrying about what our government would do, how the vaccination plan is working out, and when we can travel again, we...

  When a government decides to silence a specific group of people, it is beginning to dehumanize them. Our freedom of thoughts does take us to a place where we will disagree with one another. I don't support people who propagate hatred. However, if we deal with them by shutting them down and takes away their rights, is it much different from their hatred?  A new form of tyranny appears when shutting down those who disagree with us. We have witnessed that this past week as the Russian government arrested thousands of people who support Alexei Navalny. These protesters have a different view and hope for Russia. In the meantime, many Chinese in Hong Kong departed for the UK as they are afraid of the coming cracking down from the government. We in Canada and the US have begun to feel the power of the new cultural arrangement. We now replace one form of policing with another. That is scary. Saying what we believe now can be viewed as committing a crime if our view doesn't fit with ...

It seems to be unreal that we have been dealing with Coronavirus for almost a year now. I returned from Montreal on March 21st last year at the beginning of the initial lockdown. Before leaving I was watching the Prime Minister's press briefing from the hospital where my father was staying at the time. The airport in Montreal and Toronto were pretty quiet during my trip home. I sat next to a young man who just returned from Egypt during the flight between Toronto and Calgary. He mentioned to me that he was visiting a town that had the highest rate of Covid-19 infection in Egypt at the time. I had no idea what to say and what to do; except pray. It was a long flight indeed. My father passed away last November when Covid-19 was still raging in Montreal. We experienced all of the heartache and emotional pains for not being able to be with him due to many restrictions. He contracted Covid-19 but didn't die from it. Many seniors died in his nursing home because of it though. The fu...