Crazy times. That’s the best way that I can think of to describe how life is right now. Crazy times.
How do we navigate times like this when the day in and day out routines that we live by are no longer the same? How do we cope when then unthinkable happens? The impact of this pandemic is already big and continues to keep spreading – whether it is how we communicate and relate to people, loss of employment, or greater – loss of life. How do we stay grounded in the truth of the situation while not becoming overwhelmed or consumed with fear or grief?
My guess is just like most things in life, we do the best we can with what we have and try to live in what we know instead of dwelling where our feelings would like to take us.
Here’s what I know: While I am not a huge fan of change, change isn’t always bad. I have no idea what my role will be or how I will even know what to do regarding “distance learning,” but I am confident that by the end of this school year I will be more computer savvy. My morning routine with time in God’s word has morphed into a time where my 19 year old child is joining me. I love my private time with the LORD, but there is something beautiful about teaching Hannah how to get into God’s word and begin journaling. I’m not a fan of going out in the rain, but I have gotten some projects completed indoors because of it. I know Grace is struggling with the lack of social interaction with her peers, and I feel for her. Her loss is our gain, as I find she is more willing to participate in family time – such as games, art projects, and just being silly.
This isn’t how I wish things would be. It isn’t. I spend so many hours in the night awake. I can’t seem to shut off my mind. The thought has occurred to me that perhaps the reason I am awake is because God wants His people praying for one another and for the crisis we find ourselves in. He wants us lifting one another up, and He knows we will do it when there is nothing else around to distract us. My list of folks in need seems to grow longer every day.
Where are you at? Friends, even in the realms of “social distancing” and staying home in quarantine, how are we using our time, our gifts, our talents, our overall resources? Are we pointing fingers of blame or are we investing in encouragement, spreading of hope, growing, and learning new things? Are we making memories we will actually want to remember, or are we merely biding our time until this whole nightmare is over? Will it be remembered as a nightmare, or an opportunity to put into perspective how blessed our lives actually are?
In our Bible time yesterday, Hannah and I finished reading through the book of Psalms. I asked her to choose what our next book would be and she chose the book of Luke. Today during our devotion time, we read Luke 1. “Praise the LORD, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has send us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us…. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live…. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in the darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” (Luke 1:68-71, 74-75, 78-79)
I’ve got good news for you today. God doesn’t leave us in times of crisis and grief alone. He doesn’t. God also doesn’t just give us hard times and loss without a purpose for it. We don’t always see it. We definitely don’t often understand it. But God is always good. Always loving. Always present. Even in the junk. Look, the morning light will dawn, and guide us from this valley on a path of peace. Hang in there!
Blessings!