Every now and then I become fascinated with how certain things continue to be done though they seem archaic. For instance, though I know that fewer people use the postal service, I find it wonderful that mail delivery still works pretty much the same way it always has. I write a letter, put a stamp on it, take it to a mailbox, it goes through some magical process of sorting and sending, and in the end is delivered by another human to its receiver. Even writing this, I marvel at the fact that it all still works this way.

In the Midwest we are held spellbound by those in the Red River Valley, residents and volunteers, who have been filling millions of sandbags to shore up the banks of the overflowing rivers which threaten to flood homes and whole cities. Sandbags. Doesn't it seem that by the 21st century we would have figured out another way to work against the power of a flooding river? Certainly there are examples of temporary levees and other walls that are being tried but the sandbag remains the primary form of holding back these rising waters.

And yet as I watch the faces of those hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people putting shovel to sand, handing the bags down the assembly line to the next person, hand over hand, till the filled bag reaches its destination on the ever-growing wall, I see the answer to my own question. Through strain and stretch, through sweat and exhaustion, these people are creating a chain of humanity joined in a common aim. Their faces, though covered with dirt and grime, are filled with exhilaration and even joy. They are rising above their individuality to become something bigger and better, to do work that can only be accomplished with multiple hands. They are all generations, all faiths, all education levels, all economic groups, doing what needs to be done. For the good of all.

In reflecting on this effort of multiple hands, many hearts, I believe there is a message of hope for the flood of despair and fear that is gripping our country. Just as no one person got us into this mess, no one person can get us out. It will take all our hands, filling, passing, piling, standing shoulder to shoulder until we see the waters recede and the river of our existence return to its original beauty. And maybe, when we've washed the grime off our faces we might realize that indeed we are better off than we imagined, or even were, before the crisis happened. Perhaps in the working together we will re-member what it means to be community, what it means to share in the work of the people, what it means to sacrifice for the common good.

This could be a Pollyanna way of looking at things but it seems to me like a good way to go. It has been my experience that when I put my bets on a group of people, a community committed to one another, I am rarely disappointed. I would even go so far as to say that I believe it is what we were created to do and be……partners, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Holy, in the on-going birthing of the world.

"A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~Margaret Mead