Donal Walsh once wrote, “A few months left, he said. There it was, I was given a timeline on the rest of my life. No choice, no say, no matter. It was given to me as easy as dinner, I couldn’t believe it, that all I had was 16 years here and soon I began to pay attention to every detail that was going on in this town. I realised that I was fighting for my life for the third time in four years and this time I have no hope. I was handed excuses on a silver plate, but I wasn’t going to be using them”.
People are telling us we should get used to the new normal, but in these times to my mind there is nothing normal about it. These are the most abnormal of times. Nothing normal about not being able to visit your elderly parents, visiting someone who’s sick in hospital, hug your friends or grandchildren, or to meet up with a few friends for a cuppa coffee.
Throughout our lives we are given burdens to bear and this is one that the whole world is bearing together. God helps us through these times so we won’t feel overburdened. I’ve noticed how the weather has been near perfect for two whole months since the start of Covid. Because of this we can get out for walks, see nature in all its glory develop in the spring time, take time for ourselves, have time to reflect on how precious life really is, have time to develop our Faith.
We see the work of God every day, in all the front line workers from Hospitals, Co Councils, Police Force, The Clergy, and Volunteer Organisations. They look after the sick, help keep clean towns & city’s, visit the sick & distressed, protect & comfort the worried & feed the hungry. These are people doing God’s work, people like you & me.
So much goodness is coming out of these abnormal times I hope we do not lose this sense of welfare and well-being towards one another when life starts opening up. Like Donal said bad news is not easy to take, but with God behind us we will bring out the very best in ourselves and others.
In our thought for the week, Elma Walsh encourages us to look for the work of God every day in these ‘abnormal times’.
Elma is the mother of Donal Walsh, the young, the Kerry teenager who touched so many lives when he came to prominence through his writings and subsequent appearance on Brendan O’Connor’s ‘The Saturday Night Show’ Donal, who had great faith and who fund-raised tirelessly, while battling terminal Cancer, had the Donal Walsh #Livelife Foundation set up by his family primarily in order to promote his anti-suicide #Livelife message. www.donalwalshlivelife.org
