Just some randoms for Wednesday from our shelter to yours

This morning Russ asked me if it was hard to keep track of the days lately.

I have to say to him a yes and a no.

My regular pre-Covid19 schedule was anything but static.

The three constants were to work at the shop Wednesdays and Fridays and go to church on Sunday. From there my hours were up for grabs as needed by family and home duties.

I would lament many days that I didn’t have enough time at home.

Be careful what you pray for, right? And no…not for one second do I believe God answered my prayer for a freer calendar by sending this to the world.

PLEASE NOTE: I am assuming anyone reading this knows my heart better than that…but in case you don’t, I am aware of the heartache this is causing beyond just inconvenienced schedules of isolation.

I am using these lock-in days to get a lot of much needed home work done. The accountability of having my husband setting up his office at our kitchen table has truly helped keep this ADHD blonde brain on task and for that I am grateful…but I would never have dreamed the extent of devastation that would provide me with this time-standing-still break in our calendar.

So since it’s Wednesday I figured it would be okay to just throw out some random observations from where I sit each day on this 25th day of March:

Because telecommunication is happening from my normal command central of our kitchen, I have been working in other rooms of the house including this little space we call my desk.

It actually has a surface that is not paper.

I discovered this yesterday when I locked myself in here and began working through the piles of stuff that had accumulated.

It has forced me to realize how I have viewed something God has laid on my heart to do through sharing encouragement via writing and socials media as a “hobby.” I see now I have despised, by belittling, the opportunity He has given me to use something I don’t understand or appreciate to exhort others in the faith.

As I have been isolated from meeting face to face with real live people, I have begun to notice the way others are sharing their talents.

Music, cooking, humor, fitness, art, words, teachings, encouragement, correction, wisdom, organization…all these things are being shared in abundance on social media and I am so thankful not one single person who has touched my life said, “Well, what I do isn’t very special. Nobody needs this today.”

Whatever you are called to do – do it.

Do it with your whole heart and do it as well as you can.

Some of you are called to quiet ministries of prayer or one-on-one mentoring, care-giving or cheerleading.

Do it as unto the LORD – now more than ever.

Don’t despise your calling because you are looking at it from your human perspective.

Think about the one person that needed to hear or see or know what you have been given to share and do it for that one unknown face, with great joy and for the glory of God.

It is still Lent.

I am saying this as much for me as for anyone who needs reminding.

While I have continued to do my devotions each morning and am keeping up with my Bible reading, I confess I have lost the thread of any kind of focus on the season of Lent.

My main thoughts about the calendar leading up to Easter have been ….

The growing realization that we may be sitting in front of our computer on Easter morning in our living room instead of being in our home church and trying to take that in.

and

b. There will come a day when we won’t celebrate Easter because there won’t be a reason to. The world as we know it will come to an end and our current setting is a vivid reminder of why we are supposed to, at all times, remember that this is not the final home for us and how this is not a doomsday or morbid thought for followers of Christ but a reason to celebrate and remember that we already died…and we live in Him now…and that we will stand perfected, finally, before the One who died for us and redeemed us.

But I want to get re-focused on the season of Lent…so pray for me…because if I had a theme going it has vanished from my radar…sigh.

I believe because of something deep inside me that we will come out of this sooner than we feared. I believe with my whole heart that there will be positive, but sadly in some cases temporary, changes in the way things are done. I sense deep within my spirit that we are going to see God move in mighty ways.

I believe some of us will be markedly different because of what we have been through. I believe as we recover as a nation and across the globe, there will be improvements from this time that benefit many.

But I also believe others will return to old or worse ways based on the historical bent of human nature. I believe that there will be another event down the way that will shake us some more because this pattern marks the progression of the world wearing out…we have been given the warnings and signs in Scripture.

<3 As timing would have it, and having extra time, I grabbed a book off the shelf designated for “need to read these”.

It is about the Shemita and God’s command for rest. Sabbath rest…the rest for land every seven years…the canceling of debts…the whole thing.

It is complicated and it was for Israel, but it makes me think of businesses I know that shut down on Sunday in the past and yet continued to do well. And how many of us have not rested who knew we should rest.

I am not making judgments. I am not wise enough to do so.

I am simply pondering how often I didn’t rest because there was too much to do…and now I find that we have all…the entire world…has come to a screeching halt in many ways.

Even having said that, I know there are still others of us who are working tirelessly now more than ever.

While I do sense a degree of political posturing regarding the health care crisis, I know for a fact from friends and family that there are medical servants who are being pushed to the limit who need our prayers right now.

Given circumstances that are too complicated to share here on this little space: our physicians, nurses, hospitals, paramedics, first responders, CNA’s, hospice workers, social workers, pharmacists and techs…anyone who is used to providing well and acute care to our community are being affected with extreme challenges and exposure.

As followers of Christ, we are called to be obedient to the mandates of our government and to faithfully pray and support those who are on the front lines.

I urge you to remain at home if at all possible to slow the advance of spreading the disease.

I urge you to think carefully before you engage in inflammatory political arguments on social media.

I urge you to extend grace to those who use humor to relieve stress and yet I caution you to be sensitive in the way you share your own humor at this time. We need to laugh and sharing laughter is good medicine, but also be people of sober judgment about what is above and what is below the line of decency.

I urge you to apply the practices and disciplines of our faith in Christ by turning to Scripture and prayer in your closet.

I urge you to respond to every nudge of the Spirit when He puts a friend or family member on your heart – and then figure out a way to reach out to that one person…you can text, call, email, post…positive and life-giving words of hope and encouragement without breaking any of the shelter in place orders. You can provide a gift card to a local restaurant for a young family struggling with the new normal or drop a meal off on the porch of lonely single person who cannot get out.

How blessed we are that in our afflictions, God gives us the comfort we need so we can comfort others. 2 Corinthians 1:4

Be blessed today…and be a blessing as we journey onward.

Share and Save: