Nick Fawcett (devotional and reflective writer)

We’re pinning so much on it, Lord:
the prospect that vaccines will help to control,
and finally eradicate,
the scourge of coronavirus,
at last putting an end to the misery, fear and uncertainty
that this last year has brought to so many.
Yet, while we dare to hope,
we have our doubts also –
our worries and reservations,
for we cannot help but wonder,
given all that has transpired,
whether effective measures have been put in place
to make the most of the opportunity before us.
Can the vaccines be supplied in sufficient quantity,
and as quickly as we need them?
Will a single dose provide the protection we’re promised,
and will delays in the booster jab reduce its efficacy?
Might scepticism lead many to refuse this option altogether,
potentially undermining the whole programme?
These,
and a host of other questions,
crowd in upon us,
leaving us hesitant to place our faith in the pledges made.
We have heard too much,
seen too much,
experienced too much
to trust blindly in the words of politicians
and to assume that our troubles may soon be over.
Yet we long to believe it –
need to do so –
for the sanity,
health,
wellbeing,
and very future of so many
depends upon it.
Grant, then, that the vaccines that have been approved,
and those that are still being developed,
will make a real and lasting difference to our situation,
bringing about a swift reduction in hospital admissions,
a rapid decline in deaths
and an end to the spread of this horrible disease –
a time when we need no longer walk in fear,
but can pick up again the broken threads of our lives
and weave a bright new tapestry.
Lord, we call to you,
we cry to you,
we plead with you:
hear our prayer.
Amen.