Some thoughts made possible from sheltering in place…

I believe, and embrace resolutely, that I (we) are loved by Jesus Christ. As I have expressed, this pandemic is NOT God’s punishment perpetrated on sinful people… oh, it’s sinful people alright, but not my Father’s doing.

Because he loves us, He must want good things to come from what we are enduring. And Christ is THE WAY out! I see that in so many unexpected ways we already are making discoveries… sheltering-in-place is leading many to “rethink” many things previously taken for granted!

Honestly, in some ways, I am enjoying this enforced “containment” as it has offered time to study new books, reflect on a variety of materials, even podcasts have produced new ways of thinking.

Reflection takes time, as does the pursuit of the most powerful and profound gift of our Father’s GRACE… prayer! This makes our opportunities for reflection a most precious resource. I might suggest we take a moment to look at how we spend that time for prayer and self-examination… when we do such, something profound emerges…

We all know, we all sense, life will not go back to the way it was… in the words of Seals and Croft:

We may never pass this way again …

I would encourage us all to take a moment to think about all the things in our life that we might never experience again, or experience in the same way/s that we have in the past.

And it is here that we PRAY… pray that we might mature in our ability not to take people and experiences for granted, pray that we might offer solace to those who are filled by loss and promise, pray that we might grow ever more aware that in the hollowness that threat and fear engender we are not alone, and pray that we have become more aware of the reality of our moment to moment living… that we not take each other for granted… that the power and preciousness of our expressed faith not be smothered by a “return to the usual”…

People, God did not do this terrible thing to us, but through Jesus Christ we will handle it. I have said so many times, and I’m sure you have also, “if I had the time!” Well, you got the time… and you need to hold onto it…

“and, soon, when you go back out into that world, remember Christian, that person next to you is your brother or your sister!”

Don’t waste this time you’ve had alone with yourself and God… we have lived some time now on the fringe of our mortality… we need to ask ourselves… “How did we allow Christ to get us through it all, and how are we going to fill our lives with Him when it all begins again??”

Really missing you, George