Wow! What a difference 2 weeks can make! Two Sundays ago we had a Gideon speaker in our Sunday morning worship services. Two weeks ago we had our monthly business meeting, various committee meetings, Sunday School – all normal stuff. I had a doctor’s appointment, carried my car back to the dealership for scheduled servicing – life was normal. Then life changed. Now it is hard to imagine that just 2 weeks ago buying toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and Lysol spray was mostly an after-thought while shopping for groceries. Running low? No problem, just run by the nearest Dollar General! I guess there were a lot of things we took for granted – 2 weeks ago.
Times like this have a way of sorting out priorities. They have a way of culling things from our lives that suddenly don’t seem as important anymore. But, they also have a way of reminding us of those things that are/should be most important to us.
Hard times bring out the best, and worst, in people. Like oranges, when we are squeezed it is what’s on the inside that comes out. If we walk in the Spirit, our lives will yield fruit of the Spirit – even in the hard times. Especially in the hard times. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Are these the things that are being squeezed out of you?
Let me take this opportunity to thank you church for being the church. I have heard and read of so many good works and acts of kindness that many of you are doing. Thank you deacons for taking care of your widows. Thank you seamstresses for making masks for our healthcare personnel. Thank you Sunday School teachers for regularly contacting your class members. Thank you neighbor for being a neighbor and checking on your neighbors. Thank you compassionate servant for checking on our homebound. Thank you to those who are sharing what you have with those who don’t have, and have volunteered to shop, pick-up and deliver, or anything else that is needed for our senior adults and others who are at-risk. Thank you youth and adult praise teams for leading us in our on-line worship services, and for our media people who are making it possible for us to worship at home as one family. Thank you to those who are praying daily for our church, staff and families, country, President, Governor, Mayor, and other local, state, and national leaders. Thank you for those who are praying for our healthcare workers and first responders. Thank you for those who are being faithful in your giving so our church responsibilities can be met. Thank you, church, for letting the love of Christ be seen in you!
I like what one person wrote, “This is not our new normal, it is our “now” normal. By God’s grace, things will soon go back to the way they were. When they do, I hope we won’t.
Who’s Your One?
Bro. Dan
