In the recent COVID-19 reality, I find myself forced to stop. The reality is that everyone around me is also slowing down. I find myself in shock that toilet paper, canned beans and pasta cannot be found. Those items don’t seem to be anything special, yet it is strange when they are gone you panic mid-isle because you don’t have beans in your cart. I don’t even like canned beans! I catch myself breathing a deep breath in and out while saying to myself, “There is no need to panic.” Then I hear the Lord inquire, “Do you trust me?” I quiver slightly and murmur, “Yes, Lord.”
That question triggers another memory from childhood. I would draw what I described as ‘trust trees’ and I had quite the collection pinned on my wall. Each big leafy tree had red apples as I’d colour in words that outlined what I was trusting the Lord with at the age of ten. It seemed really simple then yet somehow my ability to complicate trust became an on-going reality in my adult life.
In the recent COVID-19 reality, I find myself asking neighbours, friends, and family how they are coping. There are some that don’t seem to be bothered by it or use humor to manage. Others are raw about the impacts and I sympathize with their genuine feelings or thoughts. One friend expressed that she was feeling panicky, the bombardment of the news and social media, and so she asked God, “What do you think?” He gave her a picture of Him holding the world with a defibrillator attached. After thinking about this image, she was reminded that God is re-setting the world like he did with the flood (Genesis 6:9-9:17). She paused and chuckled, “I wish I was an artist… then I could draw this reminder.”
This observation made me smile as I reflected on all the stories I’d read in the Bible as a kid. The pictures were always my favorite part. In response, I went downstairs and dusted off my children’s picture book Bible. I sat on the concrete and I found it oddly soothing to look through the stories. Because I was reminded that God was realigning my priorities and making faith first not second when responding. It says to have childlike faith and in the go-go-go of adulthood I had forgotten to be still and trust my Heavenly Father completely.
I write this blog to report that you’re not alone. In the feelings and thoughts of COVID-19, I am hopeful that we will have faith like children, trust our Almighty and Powerful God, who will be our Saviour in this uncertain new normal. We need Him and we need each other. May we take time to pause and let him speak to us as we pray and press into reading His words in scripture (Isaiah 43:2, Psalm 91:1-2, Hebrews 13:5).
P.S. I’d love to hear how you’ve heard God speaking to you in this season of life. Please share your stories with me at CharleneG@CrossRoadsChurch.ca!
