Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been in two online marriage groups. The trick was finding a time that worked for five couples who live in various parts of the world. I should really say times, since each of us had our own reference point for that particular, if somewhat arbitrary, designation. When we first signed on it was my bent to greet them, but soon realized that even that did not always fit. For one couple it is Monday morning when for another it is quite late on Sunday. Other people are about to make dinner while we have just finished breakfast. Then to add to the discrepancy some of us are in the middle of winter while others are feeling the heat of summer. Many times my knee jerk reaction was "Why are you dressed that way!" But just because I am cold, and cuddled under a quilt does not negate the weather they are experiencing in another hemisphere. 

 

Other nuances added to the variety. When we were approaching Thanksgiving, or Mother's Day, or Independence Day, other people had another calendar of holidays to follow. Being from three or four countries pressed on the boundaries of my sometimes narrow view. 

 

Then there were circumstances that have impacted people in the group, like an international move, or the birth of a grandchild. For all of us the stability of this small group acted like a rudder. 

 

The metaphor is not lost on me. My reality is, well, real. But it is not universal. Where did I get the egocentric notion that it should be?  

 

There are other forces that are and have always been in sync. Our commitment to marriage runs deep. God is the wind in our sails. 

 

It is astonishing to me how much these scant hours each week for two years have nourished me. All of us. I am grateful.