It takes an extremely long time for trees to turn to rocks. We call them petrified wood once they’ve completed the process. In these days of covid-19, I usually feel like I’m waiting for trees to turn to rocks when I’m trying to get service from a company or an organization. Every phone call starts with a recorded message saying corona virus limits their capacity to provide quick response and it may be easier to conduct business online. Trying to work online can take hours or even days before simple issues become resolved.

I try hard not to be too frustrated because I realize the delays indicate how many people have lost their jobs due to corona virus. Call centers hire a whole lot of people and they have as many as possible crammed into as streamlined space as possible. They do that to maximize profit margins if they are corporations. They do that to minimize costs if they are nonprofit, mission driven organizations. Either reason creates the same opportunity for corona virus to spread.

I pray for the people who have lost their jobs while I’m on hold waiting for a person to talk to me or maybe I’m waiting for an “associate” to chat with me online in a company website. I know some of the people I’m praying for contracted covid-19. Some of them lost their lives while most recovered. Many of them infected other people. I pray for all of them.

While I pray for them, I try hard not to think about the corporation leaders that continue to reap huge amounts of money during the pandemic. I try not to hate those who applied for government monies while raking in their corporate profits. It’s a funny feeling to fight hatred while praying for healing and for sustenance for those who are unemployed. Maybe that will become a skill I will master during the pandemic. Hopefully, I can turn the hatred into something more beneficial to my spirit and psyche. I’m not ready to let go of the anger they inspire, but I do remember sometimes to pray for their greed and indifference to soften into something like humility or even honest self-reflection.

When this all began early this year, I prayed for our leaders to have good judgment and courage. To be honest, it seems most of them are already petrified wood. Now I’m praying for a new generation of leadership to establish itself and guide us out of this mess. Those prayers seem to be reaping rewards for all of us. Lush greenery grows just beyond the walls of petrified wood. Look for these new leaders. Pray for their success.