2020 feels like a whirlwind. When Covid dictated our distancing in March, we hoped to be back together by Easter. Many hoped that in-person learning could return before the end of the school year or certainly in September. We thought summer would bring relief although there may be a 2nd wave in the fall and winter, following the pattern of the 1918 pandemic. Yet we continue to watch numbers rise as we socially distance, reinvent how to do things, wear masks, and wash our hands. So much of our daily lives are impacted by things beyond our control. We don’t know when this will end.
Similarly, as God’s people wandered in the wilderness, they did not know how or when their new circumstances would end. They nostalgically longed for the past, painting a picture in their minds that was probably much better than it really had been. We, too, long for “normal” – whatever that means! At least we understood the rules and how the world worked!
Sometimes we feel lost, alone, drifting and leaderless. God feels invisible and this invisibly-spread virus feels very real. This is when we need something to cling to. Psalm 56:3 is one of those things. Speaking to God, the Psalmist writes, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” It is a mantra that we can repeat to ourselves in times of despair. When we are losing hope and the world seems to be falling out from under us.
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” Amen.
Grace and peace, Pastor Betsy