When this pandemic season dawned on our world, we likely did not have any idea of the implications of the closures and the layoffs. Those of us living in places where so many business are shut down have felt an unexpected change of lifestyle that was no doubt unexpected.
Many of the people around me continue to go to their essential jobs, continually changing the way in which these businesses conduct themselves. Others have done their jobs at home more and some have gone home to wait to return to their jobs. They’ve gone home to learn a new lifestyle until things get back to normal. “New normal” is becoming a phrase that is so cliche that it makes us wonder if things will ever be the same as we remember them.
I personally do not care for that phrase. The sense of permanence gives me a certain sense of resistance. The feeling that we have no choice but to accept the fact that everything we did as a community, a church, or a family will have to bow to the new parameters set by the boundary-seeking virus gives my soul pause. My insides well up inside me and somewhere in my heart, my “me” stands up as if to say,
“That’s just not right!”
We are meant to “do” things. We are made to be around one another. We are made to accomplish, to create, to shape and to mold our world around us in ways that are exclusive to the person God created us to be.
I admit, these last few weeks have been a challenge for me. Some days I cannot believe that I stand in line to go inside the store to buy basics like soap and toilet paper. Some days I cannot believe that the month of April is already gone. The flow of the months leading up to this has been disrupted, and it is beginning to feel like this new life is becoming a little too familiar now.
Everything about our lives has been touched in one way or another.
At some point I will return to a job I love. I am not sure what it will look like when I get there. Only time will tell what things will be like.
There is one thing that still certain, and that is God.
God is sure. God is our foundation. Whatever things you are going through in your life right now, remember that you can take all of these things to him. The one thing we can always do is pray. When I wrote the “30 Days of Prayer” series, I could have never imagined what all would happen this year. But the thing that stayed the same is prayer. Prayer is still needed. It gives us a way to communicate our needs, and a way to tell God what we are thinking.
Today, if you are concerned about what is coming up for you in this season, take your thoughts to the one who is our Savior, Father, protector, friend and our true hope.
Put your trust in Him alone, and take a deep breath. I hope you have a beautiful day my friend. Remember the words that were spoken in the book of Joshua:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”¹
Joshua 1:9
“30 Days of Prayer: Praying about your future.”
¹Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved
