Like storm clouds gathering, I felt the darkness creeping in the last couple of weeks. I fought hard to stave it off. Yet, it’s a battle I wage from time to time. 

Just as I sensed clarity and brightness in my well-being, the world fell victim to COVID-19. Each day’s news included escalating numbers of cases and staggering deaths. No treatment, no vaccine, no real plan for a pandemic. I began to read and listen.
 
It is a topic hard to push aside. My best try was to take time off from social media and online news. And yet what I’m trying to ignore seeps in. 
 
On May 25, 2020, it was as if a second catalyst took our country by storm. George Floyd, an African-American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by a police officer.

 
By Friday, protests began across the country. Another virus captured our attention — systemic racism. Peaceful protests became riotous, destructive crowds at the hands of opportunistic fringe groups.
 
On Saturday, over breakfast, I melted down. The darkness had crept in stealthily. Now, I was lost in it. Tears flowed.
 
How did I get so lost in it all? Where had the light and clarity gone?
 
Like a whisper, a voice spoke: Here I am. I’m always here. I will never leave you.
 
The news around me and the situations impacting my life had caused me to move away from my center. I’d lost sight of what is and should be the center of my days and nights.

…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangle. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)

Here’s to staying close to The Center.

Featured image attribution: Lisa Yount from Pixabay