The Blurring

“You just paddled and rowed, and you got to there. You got home.”

David A. Robertson, Black Water

Draw-a-line-in-the-sand (meaning)
(intransitive) To lay down a challenge; (idiomatic) To create a real or artificial boundary or distinction between (two places, people or things) ; (idiomatic) To indicate the threshold or level above which something will become unacceptable or will provide a response. www.yourdictionary.com

Lines have been drawn in the sand.

But have you noticed the blurring? It’s subtle, but there.

See the couple trying to conceive? On the advice of her physician, no jab due to the high rate of miscarriage. Maybe after the birth, she says. But infants have died after ingesting v’d breast milk. Maybe after weaning then. Long term effects on fertility are unknown. Do you want a second child? The family’s line in the sand softens to encircle her and await the newest member of the family.

See the teen athlete. He wants to get back in the game. Will jabs be mandatory? To play, to travel with the team? He’s too young for the shot…yet. But soon the age will be lowered. What about Health Canada’s report of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the lining round the heart) following the jab? Cases are mainly adolescents and young adults, more often males than females. It’s only a small percentage of cases, you say. Unless, of course, your child is one of that small percentage. The line wavers…

See the funeral. The relatives sit, distanced throughout the church, masked in grief. The church has said her visible face isn’t welcome. Does she pay her respects and push her point? It’s not the time or place, she decides, to create a disturbance. (Some might argue it was precisely the time. But it was her choice.) Instead, she sends flowers and condolences, then sits in her garden, full face to the sun and sings, “If You lead me, I will hold Your people in my heart.”

Notice and observe.

See the blurring of the line as it is washed away by waves of compassion.
 
Photo by Lifeofmikey on Unsplash