One way I might describe this season is “probing the unknown.” It seems that with each day, the future feels more mysterious and I find myself throwing my hands up in the air in surrender to “the unknown.” We try to make the days and weeks meaningful with family and friends, work and play. Yet even as we celebrate the small things, like Zoom birthdays and the arrival of spring, it feels as if we are balancing between holding these things we know as we release ourselves to all that is unknown.

And while we don’t always want to be stuck in a time of “probing the unknown,” each day we find ways to breathe in and out. To acknowledge our fears and doubts, while we also lean into the strange freedom that comes from our own lack of control.

Last weekend I read a poem by Wendell Berry that I found extra meaningful during this time. I wanted to share it with you all:

“The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

For weeks we have considered what to share, as we know its been a while since our last update. Despite the strange “time warp” of this season, we wanted to find a meaningful way to bring together the MVP family. As we considered what to share, we felt that the most relevant and honest thing was a prayer.

For those who have been following the news, El Salvador has been suffering over these past 2 months as well. Their suffering stems less from the spread of the virus and death, as in the United States, but from poor leadership, hunger, violence, inhumane quarantine, and fear.

So for today, I hope you will join us in this prayer for our world – our countries, our communities, and ourselves. May it be a genuine way to hold all that we are experiencing individually and communally during this season probing the unknowns.

A PRAYER FOR PEACE
For those in our neighborhoods and our world who are hungry – perhaps without enough food for today or unsure about what their family will eat tomorrow; give us your peace.

For those who fear leaving their homes – due to the risk of a virus or the risk of threats and violence; give us your peace.

For those who are alone – both in body and in spirit – feeling isolated and far from human touch; give us your peace.

For those who are sick – with Covid-19, with other illnesses, with depression and anxiety, or with any other ailments; give us your peace.

For those who are suffering job loss and economic insecurity – especially those who fall through systemic cracks and have no safety nets; give us your peace.

For those who have been unexpectedly separated from their loved ones – by travel restrictions, quarantine, or hospital rules; give us your peace.

For all those who feel loss, dryness, and the weight of the unknown; give us your peace.

Peace that brings calm into fear. Peace that brings love into sadness. Peace that brings hope into despair.

We long for your peace. Be near to us and to our neighbors in this dry season. Amen.

Thank you for walking with us, during all seasons, as we seek peace for our communities and our world. May you “rest in the grace of the world, and feel free.”

With hope,

Molly, Eliberto, & the MVP Family