For the past week or so, I have been seeing pelicans again, and it makes me so happy! Last fall, they were flying south. Always south. Turns out, they migrate. And so for several months I have not seen them, and have been wondering when they might come back. Here they are, flying north. Always north! They are social distancing per state orders. The largest group I have seen is 6, flying in tandem over the breaking waves. But a lot of ones and twos, like these.
To everything there is a season. For the pelicans, it is time to fly north. For us, it is a season of self-restraint, of acute awareness of our health and that of others, of finding new ways to show our love for God and neighbor. It is comforting to me to think of it as a season. It will end. Gradually, we will come into a new season. It will not be like what has come before. Just as winter turns to spring, rather than going back to fall, we are anticipating spring.
What new joys will it bring? What old favorites will return? Today, I am grateful for pelicans flying north.