I got a nice haircut before my vacation to New Brunswick last March 13. The plan was to get the haircut and pick up my buddy Anthony. He’s pictured with me above. We were looking forward to a nice road trip together while on spring break. The drive would have been about twelve hours.

Great! We were going to visit my grandmother and family. I called her after the haircut and she was concerned. There was a lot of fear and worry as news of the pandemic spread. She thought it was best that we didn’t come. It was a hard decision and we opted not to go after all. Instead we went to my family’s cottage and had epic “bro time” at the cabin. You can see the sunset from one of our evenings. Maybe that wasn’t so bad after all. Then upon returning we found out that Ottawa and the world shut down.

Where were you when the first shutdown occurred? Can you believe it’s been a year?

Since then, I have reminded myself everyday that I am living through a pandemic. It’s not a normal time. I’ve reflected on where I am because my spiritual director encouraged me to pray in a new way. He encouraged me to ask myself this question when I sit down to pray:

Where am I?

This is a good question. While some things have changed, like the length of my hair, some things haven’t changed—we are still living in a global pandemic. This is where I am. But this bodes a question for our spiritual lives: where am I today, even during a pandemic? Where am I today: emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually? 

If we have an understanding of where we are, we can appreciate the gift of the season we find ourselves in. And as God permits a season there is an underlying reason. God allows all things to help us learn and grow as His beloved sons and daughters. So, take heart. There’s something good for us today, wherever we are.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

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