Mardle
How could I have forgotten until this evening that I normally do one of these? I suppose it is a first that the midweek is going out after the weekend and I’ll try better next week.
Having put some statistics for covid into last weekend’s update and been monitoring my own locality of Stoke, Maidenhall and Port since then it was pleasing to note that it’s now lower than before the weekend – but did peak at around 1,176 earlier this week. Unfortunately there’s been a slight rise in Gipping and Chantry Park.
Please note that the table below uses 9th January whereas last weekend’s update used 10th January figures.
Area | 9th January | 16th January | ||
Rate per 100,000 | Number of Cases | Rate per 100,000 | Number of Case | |
Belstead Hills | 789.5 | 51 | 402.5 | 26 |
Stoke Maidenhall and Port | 1056.0 | 103 | 809.9 | 79 |
Stoke Park | 816.9 | 58 | 577.5 | 41 |
Gipping and Chantry Park | 642.2 | 61 | 726.4 | 69 |
The difficulty with looking at numbers is that there’s a tendency to move away from appreciating that behind each number there’s a story – a story that relates to someone’s life. Those stories, based on the numbers new are measuring, are more likely than not to have some form of suffering or loss attached to them but we must also remember that there are more instances of joy for recovery. In the midst of suffering and loss is the paradox that we can be celebrating at the same time.
Our faith in Jesus helps us with that, for in God there is the bigger picture where both joys and sorrows can be perceived. I’m not suggesting it’s easy and at every baptism we remind people that challenges lie ahead and these challenges can be overcome if we remain true to our Saviour Jesus.
The numbers in the table above are cold statistics. The love we receive from God warms us to our very core. Let’s allow the light and warmth of God to permeate our lives as we continue through the mire of a global pandemic.
Blessings
Merv on behalf of SWITM Leadership Team