Much as I’m ready for the pandemic to be over, I’ve enjoyed getting to spend some time at my brother’s house during all of this. It has meant a lot of playing with my nephew, Quentin, and my niece, Riley. They’re almost 2 years old, and 5 months old, respectively. And while I was around, Riley hit some milestones. We’ve been waiting for a while for her to roll over. She was soooo close for a while, and this week she finally did it. She also got to try a solid(ish) food a couple days ago. She ate an avocado. Although “ate” is a strong word. “Smashed around in the general vicinity of her mouth” might be more accurate. The avocado “eating” in particular, though, was so momentous that it was worthy of a Zoom call including both sets of grandparents. When she did something approximating taking a bite of it, her grandmothers would both cheer aloud and tell her what a good job she was doing. She mostly just frowned, but kept on gnawing at it with those baby gums.
My accomplishments seem smaller lately. Everything takes longer. Everything has to be done from behind a screen. I feel like what I get done is about as impressive as eating an avocado. And yet, where Riley is in life, that is a big deal. As Ecclesiastes (and Pete Seeger, and The Byrds), tells us, there is a season for everything. And if we keep reading past those 8 more famous verses, the chapter seems to get less blunt and more encouraging when it tells us that we don’t see the big picture, but God does, and he has made everything (and “everything” includes us!) suitable for its time.
May you feel suited to the uniqueness of this time. And may you celebrate your accomplishments. Even if it’s rolling over and eating an avocado.
