Today was meant to be our eldest daughter’s graduation day… so there is a sense of loss as we go through a day that had been so anticipated. We know that this celebration will happen one day, but for now we need to celebrate in a different way. So we are planning our own ceremony with music and speeches, dressing up and celebratory food. Using technology we will include a few more of the whanau, although they won’t get to taste the feast. It will be a new way of doing things in these strange days.

When Isaiah was in a hard place, God said something quite special to him. In chapter 43, God says –When you pass through deep waters, I who made you will remain with you. You are precious. Don’t be afraid. I will bring you back together –gather you from the east and west, and I will do a new thing. Do not dwell on the past –the new thing is springing up –can you see it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

What a beautiful promise –we will be gathered again and there will be new things to discover. -New things to celebrate. And in the meantime, we will make the most of what we have.