Update and a Prayer

Well, I stink at keeping promises.

I broke the 40 day commitment to write (obviously) this weekend. Life happened and between the birthday of my firstborn and an ER visit for one of my kids (they are ok, thank God!) writing fell to the bottom of my priority list.

I’m sure all twelve of my readers are devastated. 😉

My family has felt the weight of isolation heavily over the past few days. Normal coughs and headaches are met with wide-eyed fear. Tears have been shed by kids who flat-out miss their friends. Even my most introverted one is over it. Our sleep schedules are wonky and I have learned more about Zoom than I ever wanted to know. We had seven, count-em, SEVEN Zoom meetings today. One for me, the rest for band/choir/sectionals that I didn’t even think would be possible via internet. I am struggling to eat healthy food because I just want to eat Doritos and cookies.

Just being honest, y’all.

I miss my people. My kids miss theirs. I want nothing more than to join hands with friends and sing together of the goodness of God.

But I also want health for us and for those we love.

There is so much to consider every time I venture out to buy lettuce (because we are eating TONS of salad in an effort to balance the aforementioned Doritos and cookies) and my hands are miserably dry due to all the washing and sanitizing they have been subjected to for the past month. There is this eerie feeling that an enemy is lurking in the air whenever I am away from home.

And I guess it is.

But hasn’t that always been the case? Hasn’t there always been an enemy “in the air” (Eph. 2:2) that we have basically ignored? Haven’t we been guilty of discounting the power he wields and not taking him seriously? That roaring lion that prowls about, looking to see whom he may seek and devour (1 Pet. 5:8)?

I’ve learned some good, hard lessons during this period of social distancing and I’m afraid I will have many more to learn as this next month passes by. I want this season to matter. I want to come out of it different than I was when I went in. So, today, I am praying this prayer:

Oh Lord, make us aware. Clothe us in love and mercy that we may scatter it freely about to a world that desperately needs you. We miss our people. We miss your people. We are lonely for community as we knew it.

Lord, bind our hearts in this season so that, when we can finally join hands once again, we will do so as a united front that carries the banner of Jesus Christ to our neighborhoods, cities, states, country and the nations.

Protect us from despair. Teach us to find our comfort in you and to draw close to the ones who share our home. Show us how to serve one another. May we find grace in shared laughter, in meals enjoyed together, in chapters read aloud, and in songs pouring forth from joyful hearts. Strengthen us as we wait. Prepare us for what lies ahead. Give us wisdom and, in the quiet of these long days, teach us to pray–to really pray in the deep and sincere way that touches your heart. You said that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains and, to be honest, some days that is all we’ve got. But you say that is enough, so for that we are truly thankful.

What would we do without you? Thank you that we will never have to live the answer to that question.

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