Hero

It has been two weeks since my last blog. There is a part of me that says “Mark, what could you possibly say or add to this cacophony of voices, memes, videos, posts, emails and news reports that has any importance”? I have set a goal of reaching out to every household at First Christian Church in Greeley every week. This experience has given me so much it feels like I am drinking out of a ‘fire hose of grace’. I want to share with you one story that has been circling between my heart and head.
I was talking with a recently retired member who sings a great tenor part in our choir which I really miss. He has a sister in Seattle who was in a rehab nursing home recovering from surgery. She now has Covid 19. She is the sole caregiver for a son with limited ability. He is home alone without food. In our congregation is a young woman named Amy, who decided to take a year off before college to be an Americore worker in … you guessed it — Seattle. Amy was home last week in the relative safety of Greeley. She headed back to Seattle to do her job with kids. She took on an added task of bringing food to the son who was home without support or resources.
I have only known Amy for a little over three years. She was the top student in her class, sought after by many colleges. When I asked her where she wanted to go she said, “I am going to do this thing in Seattle and sort things out”. Little did she know she was heading into the first epicenter of the pandemic. I had the privilege two years ago of touring Israel with Amy and her parents. I could see then that a call had landed on her shoulders. For what and with whom, is still being revealed. Today a man eats because a young woman brings him food.
The heroes of this time are in the trenches.
Onward and Upward (and week three of house arrest).

Mark