Saturday of Week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gal 3:22-29
Lk 11:27-28
…and you are, all of you, sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
The power utility ‘de-energized’ our home two weeks ago. Out of the blue, a warning arrived by email, and two days later, another confirmed the electricity would be disconnected indefinitely while the power company examined ‘land movement issues, fissures and cracks’ in the neighbourhood. It has been surreal. There has been no time for anger with the randomness, or lack of forewarning. We have been forced to move quickly to get our home off-grid, making snap decisions on things that under normal circumstances, would have taken us weeks to figure out.
Nobody wishes for failure, struggle or adversity, but they are the forebearers of grit, of wisdom and gratitude. In this strange time, God has shown me that I have great neighbours, and that I am surrounded by angels. I have been surprised at every turn, by people’s capacity for good, for altruism, for decency. Strangers have shown us empathy, given us contacts, helped us to mobilize a solution from nothing. People that I don’t know, who I may never meet again, have showed up to help us as best they can, hustling on our behalf to get the construction of an alternative power source done in record time. It is very stressful, and like all building projects, there have been issues along the way. But everyone — every single person — has leaned into making a solution happen.
The people at my house are of all nationalities, from every faith and every demographic. It takes a lot of different skill sets to get something like this off the ground, and to do it at warp speed. Every single person tapped into their best self to make it happen. If before I was disillusioned by our country’s politics, the acrimony on both sides of the aisles, and by the crime and lack of humanity in society, then this last two weeks has reaffirmed my faith in God and in people’s capacity for good. People can be inspired. They can rise to meet the challenge. People can rally into the best versions of themselves.
Even I can, under these trying circumstances, rally to be a better version of myself. Because from some deep recess within, God found for me fortitude, patience, calmness and faith that I did not know I possessed, to be able to keep moving. “Faith is the substances of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). I think I am only just beginning to grasp the meaning of this.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Sharon Soo)
Prayer: We pray for those who are living in circumstances where the necessities of basic utilities are a challenge. We pray that God sends angels to their aid, because nothing is insurmountable for Him.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for everyone, all the angels that God has sent to help usher us through this strange and confusing time. We give thanks for the people who try so hard for us. We give thanks for the people God has summoned, each with their own skillset, each with their own role, to making a solution happen for us. We give thanks for family, who have prayed for us, and who have given us the time and space to figure this out.
OXYGEN 
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