“The sun'll come out tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow
There'll be sun
Just thinkin' about tomorrow
Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow
'Til there's none
When I'm stuck a with day that's gray and lonely
I just stick out my chin and grin, and say, oh
The sun'll come out tomorrow
So you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love ya tomorrow
You're always a day away
When I'm stuck a with day that's gray and lonely
I just stick out my chin and grin, and say, oh
The sun'll come out tomorrow
So you gotta hang on 'til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love ya tomorrow
You're always a day away
Tomorrow, tomorrow
I love ya tomorrow
You're always a day away”
- Annie the musical.
The last two years have been oh so grey….
These past two years as we’ve navigated Covid-19 and the world has been filled with fear, sickness, loss of jobs, anxiety, isolation and so much more we as a human race have been forced to live in a world we would have never expected.
A world that’s been closed down on occasions, a world with increased PPE, restrictions on travel and entertainment, a world where we mostly cannot see people’s facial expressions as their faces are covered by masks, a world where there has been more darkness than sunshine at times.
A world where babies have waited months to meet their family, a world where restrictions have meant people couldn’t worship and minister together, a world where people who are sick have endured it alone. A world so different from the world we have been living in prior to Covid-19.
Covid-19 for many hasn’t been the worst thing that’s entered their lives over the last two years, there’s been so much darkness, sorrow and grief and I often wonder how so many people have survived these past two years. For many it’s been just that, a time of surviving, there hasn’t been much thriving.
Having faith that the sun will come out tomorrow….
It’s been hard to hold on to that faith that Annie sings about when she says the sun will come out tomorrow, we just have to hang on. But we know that God is good, he is faithful and ever loving.
Just as Covid started to invade our world, I was returning home from an incredible 18 months overseas serving at a children’s home, a season that was full of physical touch and hugs, a season that was so much more than an opportunity to serve and be faithful. I absolutely loved my experiences despite some incredibly difficult days, I was full of joy and love and everything happy.
I know now that because my days were filled with hugs, pure joy and love that those hugs and baby snuggles increased so many of my “feel-good” hormones like:
- Dopamine hormone which makes us feel good.
- Serotonin that is an antidepressant hormone that elevates mood and reduces anxiety and feelings of loneliness
- Oxytocin, the love hormone that releases stress and boosts heart health.
Hugs are so good for us, and the longer the hug with someone you love and trust the more benefits it has for you. Hugs help us fight depression and illness. It improves our immunity, reduces stress and improves so many aspects of our mental health. Hugs provide a sense of security and trust, hugging is a powerful medication that is free and easy to provide.
It’s hard to have faith and believe that the sun will come out tomorrow when our world has been so grey and when we’ve been told to limit physical and social contact, when we’ve been told to practice social distancing and when we’ve been filled with a fear that’s told us not to hug one another to protect ourselves from Covid-19.
How can we be faithful and happy and healthy when one of our biggest natural medications has been turned into a fearful one?
I’ve struggled since coming home from South Africa right before Covid-19 locked our nation and world down. I knew I was coming home to a country and culture where there would be less hugs than I had in my daily life in South Africa. I just didn’t realise how much the lack of hugs would impact my health.
The isolation of Covid on top of it all, missing the feel-good hormone benefits of having what felt like a hundred hugs a day and now being able to count on both hands how many hugs I receive in a month in our Covid feared world.
It’s been hard to have faith that the sun will come out tomorrow. This pandemic feels never ending. But through it all, God is beside us in the storm, protecting us and covering him under his wings even when we cannot feel it.
On the days I’ve struggled most to see that the sun will come out tomorrow, God’s provided me with unexpected safe places and people, he’s used them to show me the sun and he’s given me a little slither of sunshine on the horizon.
I’m holding out hope for the day the sunshine is overwhelming and the hugs and oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin are radiating from everyone who walks the roads around us.
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched- they must be felt with the heart.” – Helen Keller.