I am searching for an old Bible study book from some years back. I am certain I have done this particular study in the past and am convinced I must still have the book. It must be somewhere in my house, if only I could find it and avoid buying another one. So far, I have not found said book. BUT – I did just discover something I wrote only a few years ago, (although it seems exponentially longer than that). My words are hand written, scribbled on scrap paper, this paper tucked into a book that got my attention even as I searched in vain for the book that I currently need.

My words took me by surprise even as they took me back to a time not that far removed from today. How soon we forget, I thought, as I read what I had written regarding those days. Perhaps a flashback is in order, dear readers. Doesn’t the saying go, “history will repeat itself if we don’t learn from our mistakes.”? In any case, these were the thoughts and reflections I found scribbled on scrap paper, tucked away in a book, a book that was buried in a stack of books until I came across it today and read this –

“I am surprised by the ordinariness of this day. In these extraordinary times we go about our business as if nothing has happened – walking through our days waiting for the other shoe to drop. The first shoe to fall fell quickly, before we had time to question how we would walk forward with only one shoe.

The day that first shoe dropped, it was an ordinary day – which was no surprise – these were ordinary times. Oh sure, there had been a recent rumor or two – a rumbling of something – but it was business as usual for all of us – until it wasn’t anymore.

Schools closed overnight. Businesses and restaurants shut down. No weddings. No funerals. No birthday parties. Gatherings of any kind were forbidden while the streets remained packed with angry protestors day after day, night after night. Liquor stores were open. Churches were closed. No eating out – but some did. No haircuts – but some did. We are told not to visit our loved ones. It is too dangerous. We are told to distance and to isolate. I wait in isolation, fear and silence for the other shoe to drop.

Now two and a half years later, I look around the classroom and wonder. I wonder about many things. There is no reminder here save one student wearing a mask – a last visual vestige of the trauma thrust upon us so suddenly and so completely that we could not catch our breath – and then they masked us – ensuring we could not breathe freely nor speak freely. The masks were silence’s symbol and fear’s announcement simultaneously – ‘be afraid and be quiet’ they proclaimed, ‘no questions allowed – the science is settled,’ they said. Reality told a different story, but reality was not to be believed. They were. And the shoes continued to drop – our freedoms disappearing with each new thud. No travel, no contact, no work, no worship, no community – only isolation and fear.”

Reading my own words took me back to a time I had already forgotten – an unwelcome flashback for sure. How had “fifteen days to flatten the curve” turned into more than a year of forced restrictions in our personal lives? I remember markings on the floors of stores telling us where to stand, to ensure that we were properly distanced while waiting in line. I wonder if some of those markings are still there? I wonder if there were markings on the streets ensuring the protestors kept their proper and required distance from each other?

Well, enough of reverie and reflection for today. Time for me to be thankful for our God given freedoms. I am reminded of the words of Isaiah –

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Isaiah 61:1-1-2)

God came to set you and me free. In Galatians we read –

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

In John we read –

“To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ ” (John 8:31-32)

I have an innate longing to be free. We all do. At present, around the world many people are enslaved and oppressed by governments currently in power. But this is not permanent. Ultimately, freedom is ours in Christ. We have His promises as our hope. Jesus told us –

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

and –

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’ ” (John 8:34-36)

forever free – thanks to the redeeming rescue of our Savior, Jesus!

sincerely, Grace Day