There are days when I just don’t want to think about this plague anymore.  Days when I’m tired of worrying about what will happen next – speculating about the future, lost income, unemployment, cancelled travel plans and the monotony of this current existence.  Days when I don’t want to read the news or hear about more deaths, or wonder at the wisdom of those around me and the world’s leaders.  Days when the impact on the economy is the last thing I want to hear – knowing full well it trickles down to my own retirement funds and house value, and friends’ and families’ job prospects.  It’s just too much. It’s just too complicated.

On days like this, I want to think about simpler things. The sunshine.  The flowers.  The gentle breeze of spring.  Something that hasn’t changed, that remains lovely and untarnished.  So, I find myself drawn to another Sunday School song from my childhood.  It is a simple tune, a simple message.  God is love.  Simple.

Praise him, praise him, all ye little children, 
God is love, God is love; 
Praise him, praise him, all ye little children. 
God is love, God is love. 

Love him, love him, all ye little children, 
God is love, God is love; 
Love him, love him, all ye little children. 
God is love, God is love. 

Thank him, thank him, all ye little children, 
God is love, God is love; 
Thank him, thank him, all ye little children. 
God is love, God is love.

It seems to me that whether one believes in God or not, the idea that love is worthy of acknowledgment, praise, gratitude and imitation, is a good thing.  The use of love as a descriptor of God is one of the better options I’ve heard.  It is not dependent on a reflection of a flawed human characteristic, it is pure.  It is independent of who we are and all of our mistakes and failings.  It rises above what kind of day we’re having, our impatience and our selfishness.  And there it is.  On days when we are simply tired of everything, we can return to this thing that is more than everything we can ever hope to be.

Love is a word difficult to define, but I think we understand the difference between its superficial meanings and that deep space of welcome, joy, care, understanding, support, encouragement, sharing, strength, forgiveness, essence, knowledge, wisdom and peace.  It is a thing we give, and thing we receive.  It is larger than our circumstances and greater than the time we have been given.  And, amidst all of this, it is simple.  We are loved.  We love.

A lovely message to sing to children.  Love is worth action, be it thanks, praise or love itself.  And as I reflect on my own weariness, it is comforting to know, that it is greater than whatever I feel today.  It is greater than any virus, greater than any circumstance.  Knowing this allows me to see the sunshine and feel the gentle breezes.  It allows me to seek patience and to care again tomorrow.  It comes from above, outside, beyond….and within.  Use it, find it, share it.