A man approached a little league baseball game one afternoon. He asked a boy in the dugout what the score was. The boy responded, “Eighteen to nothing – we’re behind.” “Boy,” said the spectator, “I bet you’re discouraged.” “Why should I be discouraged?” replied the boy, “We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!”
Sometimes the pandemic has felt anxiety-inducing. Events have been cancelled, people are still required to wear masks and stay distanced. Many wonder if the coronavirus will ever go away. These days, don’t we feel like “Eighteen to nothing?”
In many other ways though, the pandemic has also brought hope and some incredible acts of community support. Volunteers, with leadership from the Outreach Committee, have gathered some Saturday mornings to make more than 200 lunch bags each time and delivered them to the ACSA (Agincourt Community Services Association).
Through our Feed the Freezer project, Knox has also made over 100 deliveries and visits over the past year.
What do we do with this mixture of uncertainty and fear? We can still, in creative ways, respond uniquely to our strange times with love, kindness, and yes hope. Why should we be discouraged?
We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet! Yes, I admit it is a challenging time we’re going through right now. But we can still spread kindness beyond our walls and help it come to life in the neighbourhoods around us.
We as a church have found ways to be kind and encouraging within our own community while we face challenges together.
One of my colleagues once said, “Everyone can do more than nothing.” In the shadow of a pandemic, we can feel like we’re behind. However, if we each do more than nothing, that burden lightens. With each “more than nothing” act, sparks of light are made, bringing hope and light into our family and into our communities.
Remember, we shouldn’t be discouraged. We haven’t even gotten up to bat yet!
Respectfully,Bright
