Dear Friends and Family,

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself, Has this pandemic taught me anything about myself, or maybe about life? I did. 

What I learned about myself is that I love driving during lockdowns. I’m half joking of course, but that’s not all I learned.  

When we were on the mainland for 10 weeks, things were great. But as we neared the end of our stay, as much as we love our children and grandchildren and wanted to stay, we both began to miss our family and friends back home. 

The time away and this pandemic really highlighted just how much we need friends. And as we re-engage with family and friends, I am also learning that we should never assume all are doing well. Allow me to share a little story about a childhood friend. 

I still remember the day I lost a dear friend, and quite honestly, it still hurts. 

We first met when I started fifth grade at Hawaii Baptist Academy. My mom always dropped me off early in the morning before going to work. Alex’s dad was the pastor of the church attached to the school so he lived in the parsonage nearby. We became the best of friends that year as together we explored the school grounds in the wee hours of the morning. 

A year or so later, Alex’s dad was transferred to another church on Maui. We were both devastated, but promised to stay best friends. This was the saddest day of my life. 

A few years later, a teacher stopped to tell me Alex was coming for a visit. The teacher had remembered we were buddies and made arrangements for us to meet. I was so excited all I could think about was catching up on the time lost. This was the happiest day of my life. 

Well, the big day came. But the person I met that day was a total stranger. This person may have looked like Alex but he was as cold as ice. To say the meeting was awkward would be an understatement. I walked away wondering why he hated me. It hurt because I just could not understand why. This was now the saddest day of my life. 

I later learned why Alex was no longer the caring fun-loving person I once knew. It would help to know that Alex was not like most local haoles. Alex was fairer than most, his skin was as white as snow. Which in the public schools of Maui… We all know what can happen, regardless of the type of school or island. 

Needless to say, what Alex experienced hardened his heart – against everyone. The hostile environment he landed in hurt him in unimaginable ways.

Wouldn’t you agree that it’s hard to receive love and love in return when all one receives every single day is hate?

Looking back, I wish I had known what to say. The regrets still hurt today. 

Peter once wrote about experiences like Alex’s, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Now, thousands of years later, the devil is still at it. 

Dear friends, we are living in Alex’s world. Like Alex, we’ve had to deal with changes beyond our control; we find ourselves in a society more hostile than ever before. Many have been hurt in unimaginable ways by this once unimaginable virus. 

The enemy has been a wrecking ball to our society this past year. His divide and conquer tactics have isolated us from one another.

To protect our physical health, he forced us to sacrifice our emotional health. Most of all, would you agree that it’s hard to love our neighbor when they cough or even sneeze when standing next to us? 

My message is simply this: like Alex was to me, some of those who are hurting could very well be your family members or friends. 

Jesus commands us to love our neighbors. We are all familiar with Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. The story begins with the scribe justifying himself by asking Jesus, “And who is my neighbor (I am supposed to love)?” Luke 10:29. 

Jesus never answered his question. Instead, he asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”” Luke 10:36-37

In the parable, the Samaritan happened upon the beaten man. Should we limit ourselves to loving those we happen upon as well?

Given these extraordinary times, perhaps we need to take extraordinary efforts to – go and do likewise. To love as Jesus wants us to love. 

In love always,