A young friend had a birthday today. I imagine that under normal circumstances, this friend would have enjoyed the company of lots of family and friends, celebrating with games, maybe singing and certainly an abundance of food. As we move in a direction totally different from our past, today would not look like those prior years. Pandemics are funny that way. Gathering is not allowed, the desire to celebrate is a bit diminished, and our relationships are facing an unfamiliar threat of breakdown. Where once we might party, we are now finding ourselves deep in the pit of isolation. Loneliness is taking the place of our usual gatherings and companionship.
I was pleased to receive word that even in the middle of this worldwide crisis, the parents of my young friend were working diligently to provide a sense of normalcy for their children. Maybe we cannot gather in a typical birthday party event, but nothing is keeping us from waving at one another from our cars. Birthday solution: let’s have a parade! Cars lined up along the street and processed past his driveway as the birthday boy stood and waved back – obviously overwhelmed that this was all for him.
As my family drove by and we waved and shouted birthday wishes from the street, my son (the firefighter) turned to me and said: “I wish I had known earlier. I would have brought the fire truck.” Of course, my mind flew into high gear. “You still can!” and off we sped to request permission, grab his gear, and have him return to the end of the parade – lights blazing and sirens blasting. Doing the right thing rarely has limitations that cannot be overcome.
When Jonah was called by God to go to Ninevah, he self-imposed a set of social distancing rules. He moved in a totally different direction and found himself deep in the pit of isolation inside a fish belly – a smelly, nasty, pit of digestive enzymes. Talk about an unfamiliar threat of breakdown!
Jonah, however, recognized a path that would move him out of crisis mode and back into a better sense of normalcy. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.” (Jonah 2:7, NIV) Even in the belly of a smelly old fish, Jonah sped to God, grabbed his prayer gear, and returned to his Creator ready to parade himself in the right direction.
“You still can!” God calls to us. In the belly of a smelly old pandemic, in the midst of personal isolation, or in our own selfish desire to run away from good and right movement, God our ever-diligent parent calls us back to creative normalcy. With God leading us, it’s never too late to do the right thing and parade ourselves back to God – hearts blazing and prayers blasting!
Ready to party,
Pastor Beth
I was pleased to receive word that even in the middle of this worldwide crisis, the parents of my young friend were working diligently to provide a sense of normalcy for their children. Maybe we cannot gather in a typical birthday party event, but nothing is keeping us from waving at one another from our cars. Birthday solution: let’s have a parade! Cars lined up along the street and processed past his driveway as the birthday boy stood and waved back – obviously overwhelmed that this was all for him.
As my family drove by and we waved and shouted birthday wishes from the street, my son (the firefighter) turned to me and said: “I wish I had known earlier. I would have brought the fire truck.” Of course, my mind flew into high gear. “You still can!” and off we sped to request permission, grab his gear, and have him return to the end of the parade – lights blazing and sirens blasting. Doing the right thing rarely has limitations that cannot be overcome.
When Jonah was called by God to go to Ninevah, he self-imposed a set of social distancing rules. He moved in a totally different direction and found himself deep in the pit of isolation inside a fish belly – a smelly, nasty, pit of digestive enzymes. Talk about an unfamiliar threat of breakdown!
Jonah, however, recognized a path that would move him out of crisis mode and back into a better sense of normalcy. “When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.” (Jonah 2:7, NIV) Even in the belly of a smelly old fish, Jonah sped to God, grabbed his prayer gear, and returned to his Creator ready to parade himself in the right direction.
“You still can!” God calls to us. In the belly of a smelly old pandemic, in the midst of personal isolation, or in our own selfish desire to run away from good and right movement, God our ever-diligent parent calls us back to creative normalcy. With God leading us, it’s never too late to do the right thing and parade ourselves back to God – hearts blazing and prayers blasting!
Ready to party,
Pastor Beth