The hope of afterward

Celtic Cross.jpg

Reading from Joel, “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” I love that “and afterward.” What’s to come, after whatever has been endured is past: a statement of hope. As to a child, now we’ll let the nurse give you your shot, but afterward, on the way home, we’ll stop for ice cream. Or now, dear child, dear husband, dear friend, dear self, all you can do is hunker down and do what you need to do to live, to get through the day, the month, but afterward, when the pressure lifts, and it always does eventually, you will breathe again, you will daydream, you will have a vision of what life can and will be.

~~~

[Photo: taken of a drawing on the outside wall of a nearby building.]