AS Brisbane Catholics take stock of the small blessings in their life, a trend has emerged showing people were recognising the way COVID-19 had reminded them of the importance of family and helped them to re-think their priorities.
At time of publication, almost 100 people had contributed to the Archdiocese of Brisbane’s Small Blessings campaign and family was central to many of these entries.
“Our hope is that these reminders deepen our appreciation for spending quality time together with those we love, especially post COVID,” Brisbane Archdiocese Resource Development Office director Mary Macuga said.
“Someday, when family life is once again full of sports, events, and the commitments that come with school and work, I hope Small Blessings is something that pulls us back to remembering what’s most important.”
Many of the Small Blessings entries focused on how parents who worked had more time to spend with their children because there was no more commute or because of long hours at the office.
One of these entries came from Leah, who said a small blessing for her was the “opportunity to slow things down and spend more time with my family”.
“We are able to do things we never have time to do such as bake scones, play board games and just take a breather from our usually very hectic lives,” Leah said.
Many small blessings were entered by grandparents.
“I am grateful for video calling so I can see, hear and talk to my first grandchild and watch him grow even though we are far apart,” a grandmother Mary-Anne said.
Pat, another grandparent, wrote in that “our three grandchildren came with a liturgy they prepared for us (including) readings, hymns and blessing in our back garden”.
“They are (aged) 13, 12 and 8,” Pat said.
“It was very special.”
Others had the opportunity to experience a new side of family.
“A daughter who lives 400 metres away from my retirement unit, in (the) same street and ignores me, has twice purchased food for me,” a man named Michael said.
“A silver lining indeed.”
