Today’s trivia question – what do COVID-19 and the God of the universe have in common?

an impersonal virus  –  a very personal God

a virus of death  –  the God of life – actually the Author/Creator of all life

what could they possibly have in common?   give up?

It is this.  Both are no respecter of persons.  What does that phrase mean practically speaking?  It means neither discriminates or plays favorites, they are both about equal opportunity when it comes to bringing you death, in the case of COVID-19, or bringing you life, in the case of God.

We have seen that COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate on the basis of gender, or economic status, or skin color or nationality or religion or fame/celebrity status etc.  People from all over the globe have suffered from this virus, the rich and the poor alike, the famous and the unknown, the prisoner and the free person, those of all faiths and those of no faith, those from every continent and every culture, all are fair game for the COVID-19.

But just as this agent of death doesn’t discriminate among its victims, the God of all Creation doesn’t discriminate in His giving of the gift of eternal life.  He is all inclusive as His word makes clear.  In Acts 10:34 Peter explains this saying,

“Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear Him and do what is right.”

The word “favoritism” is translated “no respecter of persons” in the King James translation.  But the meaning remains the same.  God does not discriminate, He is impartial.  And aren’t we glad of that fact?  I know I am.  Psalm 103:10-13 tells me,

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;”

I especially take comfort in knowing, “The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.”  (Psalm 145:9)

No favoritism there, God made us all and so extends His compassion to us all. Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us , and not we ourselves; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”

In 2 Peter 3:9 I read that “He (God) is patient with you (me), not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  Think of it – everyone – that is pretty inclusive – actually, it is all inclusive – as inclusive as it gets!

Paul writes to the Romans in 10:12-13 saying,  ” – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him, for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ”  (Joel 2:32)

No one is excluded.  That is good news!  The final picture in Revelation 7:9-10 confirms just what an all inclusive, no respecter of persons, no showing favoritism or partiality kind of God my Heavenly Father is.  Picture the scene these words describe,

“After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.  They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.  And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ ”

Every nation, tribe, people and language – imagine it – no one left out – no one excluded from God’s invitation.  Jesus’s  invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 is clear,

“Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

I think we are each a little weary about now.  What a relief to know the Creator of the universe does not discriminate towards us the way we show partiality towards each other.  John 1:12 makes this clear saying,

“Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – ”

Isn’t that what we all want?  to be invited, to be included, to be accepted – to be accepted as we are for who we are without reservation, restriction or discrimination.  In John 6:37 Jesus said,

“All the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never drive away.”   an open invitation with guaranteed acceptance!  it does not get any better than this, dear readers!  Definitely cause for celebration.

and now for today’s confession – which is a bit embarrassing but must be brought to light.  I now realize that I began this conversation with you today with a faulty premise – which is that COVID-19 is no respecter of persons and therefore does not discriminate.

But this is not true.  COVID-19 does show partiality.  COVID-19 targets the elderly and the infirm.  This makes sense because this virus is a villain and villains are cowards.  Cowards are going to attack the weak and the sick and that’s just what COVID-19 does, attacks those less able to defend themselves, namely those with other illnesses already, those with weakened immune systems and those who are older and therefore less able to fight off illness.

By doing this, COVID-19 makes himself appear more powerful than he actually is thus gaining the advantage of fear, enabling the virus to keep everyone under his control.  Until the full realization of the favoritism he shows in targeting his victims is revealed and we are all released from his fear filled presence.

In the meantime I can rest and rejoice in knowing I am accepted by my Heavenly Father who does not show favoritism but faithfully watches over me no matter where I might be.

“The Lord watches over you – The Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”    (Psalm 121:5-8)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve always longed to travel, I love discovering and exploring new places.  (that’s not today’s confession – this is)  But now I confess to you that I rarely venture beyond the world outside my window and when I do leave my house, it is just to walk in my neighborhood.  That’s my world now.  I don’t venture much beyond its boundaries.

Why?  Well, there is danger out there.  How do I know that is true if I haven’t been out to see it for myself?  I turn on the TV and they tell me it is very dangerous for me to go anywhere that I used to go.  They tell me I need to stay at home a little while longer or bad things will happen to me.  (they don’t think isolation and not working are bad for me?)

I guess they know what’s best for me better than I would know for myself? After all, they are the experts and I’m not.  I should leave my life decisions to them.  They have continued to warn me about the corona virus twenty-four/seven.  Maybe they are worried that I will forget about this virus if they stop talking about it – this virus which is lurking in every possible place, just waiting for me to venture out.   Maybe they are worried that I will stop being afraid for even a moment and they will lose their control over me.

Maybe that’s why just two days ago they announced the arrival of the “Murder Hornet” in the United States.  This is true.  You cannot make this stuff up.  So now there is something else out there that I need to fear – something else that is out to get me.  (well, mainly honeybees, but I could be collateral damage)  At least this new agent of death, the Murder Hornet, is not invisible like the corona virus.

Although even its name, “Murder Hornet”, should strike fear in anyone’s heart. There is no mistaking its intent with a name like “murder.”  So how do I walk in this world full of killer viruses and murder hornets?  Deuteronomy 31:6 has some good advice for me,

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”  Then Psalm 23 reminds me that –

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”   (Psalm 23:4-6)

I can walk in this world that seems so dangerous and full of death, just as it has always been.  I am on my way home.  I am just passing through this valley of death on my journey.  But it is also full of life.  Life and death have always coexisted together ever since sin entered into our world in the garden.

And that will continue to be the case until Jesus comes again to establish the new heaven and the new earth.  In the meantime, stopping the living from living has no power to stop the dying from dying.  The cycle of life will continue as we wait for that new heaven and new earth to come.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,   . . .   And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them.  They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ ”    (Revelation 21:1-4)

Imagine it – a time is coming when there will be no more death!  But for now it is time to “be strong and courageous” and get on with the everyday business of living the life we have been given.  It would be a shame to waste life while waiting for death.

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:10)

I experience that abundant life in His presence, life that is stronger than fear of murder hornets and COVID-19.

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a secret  I never expected to share, but the Chronicles require a “true confession” each day and I still have plenty of them left so here goes.  I confess to being a penny scavenger.  Not a collector mind you, a scavenger.  The former sounds so much better and actually has an entirely different purpose in mind. But nonetheless, I pick pennies up off the ground whenever and wherever I encounter them.

It’s not exactly a get rich quick scheme but it is kind of fun.  Maybe it started as a child with the saying, “see a penny, pick it up and all the day you’ll have good luck.”  Then there’s the old adage, “a penny saved is a penny earned.”  But I like best the “pennies from heaven” mentality, which makes me think of them a little bit like manna (manna was from heaven)

There is a poem which says in part, “Found pennies come from heaven  . . . angels tossed them down  . . .  So don’t pass by that penny when you’re feeling blue.  It may be a penny from heaven that an angel’s tossed to you.” (C. Mashburn)

So a couple of days ago, while on my bike, I look down and see a shiny penny laying in the street.  Of course I stopped and picked it up.  It was in perfect condition, so clean, so shiny.  In fact, it was probably the sun’s rays glinting off the abandoned penny that drew my attention to it in the first place.  It was hard to miss since it’s shiny, coppery finish stood out against the pavement of the street.  I felt quite fortunate as I pocketed my penny and resumed my ride.

This morning on my walk I again picked up a penny.  This one I almost missed.  I walked over it then stopped, turned back and took a closer look.  Sure enough, ground into the pavement and mostly matching it in color, was a penny.  I guess it was the shape and size that gave it away, certainly not the color.  But when I picked it up for a closer look, it was indeed a penny.  More black than copper color, but still, a penny.

I pocketed my penny and walked on, pondering the lesson of my two pennies. (yes, this is a penny for my thoughts)  One I couldn’t miss, the other I almost overlooked. (glad I stopped and took a second look)  One was bright and shiny, the other darkened and dirty.  But you know what?  Both of them were worth one cent. They were of equal value.

Do I do that with people?  Do I take notice of the bright and shiny, while overlooking those worn down and sullied by the circumstances of life?  Do I consider some people of less value than others, depending on their appearance and circumstance?  My two pennies looked very different, but they were equally valuable.

We all look different from each other and to each other.  But not to God – not to our Heavenly Father.  To Him we are each of equal and of infinite value.  He created our diversity and He gave us our equality.  We are each priceless to our Creator.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”  (John 15:13)

“He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?”  (Romans 8:32)

“For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead.  Since you are precious and honored in My sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life.”  (Isaiah 43:3-4)

And God did give one man in exchange for me and for you, one man named Jesus. My Heavenly Father considered me that valuable!  He considers you that valuable too, dear reader.  We are all created in His image and He says to each one of us,

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”  (Jeremiah 31:3)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”   (1 John 3:1)

Even though some days I may feel (and look) like the dirty, ground into the ground penny that I found this morning, my value in my Heavenly Father’s eyes has not been diminished.  I am as valuable to Him as is the bright, shiny unscathed penny because we are each invaluable to our Creator.  That will never change.

That is the lesson of the “parable of the pennies.”  I may be guilty of overlooking less shiny people but not the God who knows every hair on every head.  He overlooks no one.  Indeed, Job said of God when he was looking for God and couldn’t find Him,

“But He (God) knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”   (Job 23:10)  God knows the way that each one of us takes.

Today I will take my rest, my comfort and my joy from these words in Zephaniah 3:17,

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”

I do love a good lullaby,

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today is Sunday and I confess to you, dear readers, this is the hardest day for me each week.  The doors of our houses of worship remain closed, so I will start today’s Chronicle where I ended last Sunday’s Chronicle (post #27) with these words from Psalm 24:7-10, which I love so much –

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is he, this King of glory?  The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.”

That’s what I want, for the King of glory to come in!  COVID-19 can’t keep the King of glory out of the world that He created.  He is here, I must be sure my heart is open to let Him in, even though the church doors are closed temporarily.

It might appear that COVID-19 has put us all in impossible situations.  We are seeking solutions but finding them feeble.  I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 19:26,

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

I have seen that truth play out over and over again throughout God’s history with us, His children.

Sarah was barren and beyond childbearing years  –  But God – enter Isaac!

Hannah was barren and full of despair  –  But God –  enter Samuel!

Ruth was widowed, childless and living in a foreign land – But God – enter Boaz, enter Obed, enter Jesse, father of future King David!

Elizabeth was barren and well beyond childbearing years – But God – enter John the Baptist!

Mary was a virgin, not yet married – But God – enter Jesus Christ!

Saul was on the road to Damascus, with papers of persecution, ready to take out any Christ followers he found – But God – enter Paul, the devoted apostle who spent his life living for Jesus!

I was dead in my transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1) – But God – ” . . . so loved the world (me) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”    (John 3:16)

COVID-19 has come into our world and would take us captive, would endeavor to hold us all hostage – But God – “God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”  (2 Timothy 1:7)

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”    (Psalm 73:26)

But God – such beautiful words  –

Peter had seen first hand the power of these two words and he made this known when he spoke to the crowd  saying,

“This man . . . you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.  But God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.”  (Acts 2:23-24)

Our stay at home order may have been extended but COVID-19 does not have the final word.  Acts 3:15 confirms this saying, “You killed the author of life, but God raised Him from the dead.”

The corona virus is a virus of death –  But God –  God is a God of life – He has the final say.  What Joseph said to his brothers so very long ago is still true to this day – Joseph said,

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”   (Genesis 50:20)

today I will sing with the psalmist,

“The Lord reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!”  (Psalm 97:1)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another day is dawning and I will confess to you this – I am feeling a bit nostalgic. A song keeps running through my head from so long ago, I had all but forgotten it. It’s an old Beatles classic, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.”  Catchy tune, great lyrics, (if you just read the title, you basically know most of the lyrics)  We used to roller skate around the rink to that song for hours on end.

Maybe I’m just missing hand holding right now.  Not too long ago there was a prediction (announcement?) made on national TV by Dr. Fauci that the handshake would become a thing of the past.  He stated that we would not return to this particular behavior even when we are allowed to return to life outside of our homes.

However will politicians and pastors handle this new rule? (remember back in the day waiting in line after Sunday service to shake the pastor’s hand?)  I wonder if the phrase “let’s shake on it” will disappear from the lexicon entirely, as handshakes will no longer be used to “seal the deal” so to speak?  (will the power of the pinky swear also become null and void?)

The handshake has long been a gesture of greeting, good will and acceptance. This got me to wondering, what’s so special about hands anyway?  I think it all started at creation.  Genesis 2:7 tells us, “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

God used His hands to make us!  David cried out to God in Psalm 119:73 saying, “Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands.”

Likewise Job said to God in Job 10:8, “Your hands shaped me and made me.”

Isaiah 64:8 says, ” . . .  we are all the work of Your hand.”  and David says in Psalm 8:3, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place,”

David was so specific as to refer to God’s fingers.  Imagine it.  God created us by hand, we are hand made, if you will.  No factory replicas here.  We are each a unique design.  Ephesians 2:10 goes so far as to say, “for we are His handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God previously prepared for us so that we should live in them.”

God formed Adam with His hands and He gave Adam hands, something no other creature had been given.  We are created in the image of our Creator and that includes having hands!  Amazing!  We too can use our hands for creative purposes.  We build things with our hands, we paint and sculpt and sew and cook and knit and play musical instruments,  . . .  the list is endless.

Our vocabulary reflects the importance of our hands.  We say someone is handy or handsome or a handful, we lend a hand, receive a handout; there are helping hands, healing hands, the hand of friendship, a man would ask for a woman’s hand in marriage, we say we can “handle” it when we think we have things under control.  And when we find we don’t have control, we say things have gotten out of hand.

Hands are special.  Those in love hold hands.  Doctors used to hold patients hands as they ministered to them at their bedside.  (that’s from back in the day when my grandpa was a doctor and made housecalls)  Parents hold their young children’s hands when crossing the street to keep them safe.  We often join hands with each other while we are praying.  Maybe that’s because holding hands connects us with each other.  And we were created to crave connection because we were created for relationship with our Creator.

I long for a close relationship with my Heavenly Father and He desires to give me just that.  My Heavenly Father is a hand holding Dad.  I have come to count on that over the years.  Just listen to what He says in Isaiah 41:13,

“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

King David said of God, “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:9-10)

I like all those assurances, assurance that my Heavenly Father not only takes me by the hand, He guides me and He holds onto me.  (and all this time I thought I was the one holding onto Him)

In fact Isaiah 43:13 confirms just who is holding onto who, “Yes, and from ancient days I am He.  No one can deliver out of My hand.  When I act, who can reverse it?”

What wonderful security I have knowing Whose hand is holding mine.  If I have any doubts, these words from John 10:27-30 should eliminate them altogether. Jesus said,

“My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and the Father are one.”

These words continue the beautiful picture painted in Psalm 23 of God caring for me as a shepherd cares for his sheep. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The shepherd doesn’t want to lose even one lamb.  Matthew 18:12-14 tells the story,

”  . . . If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  . . . In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

Yes, nothing can snatch me from my Heavenly Father’s hands, and that includes COVID-19.  My God’s grip on me is everlasting and supremely stronger than this current virus that has entered our world.  But ultimately it is my Father’s world and He reigns!

There are a lot of hands I would like to be holding right now as I write this –  the hands of my children who are spread out all over the country so far away,  the hands of my sisters, of family and of friends everywhere, the hands of my neighbors, who are so close and yet so distanced by fear and by law forbidding the shaking and the holding of hands.  (who could have seen that one coming?)

I’m glad my Heavenly Father isn’t bound by any social distancing decrees.  He is holding my hand tightly through each and every day of this COVID crisis.  In fact, He is hugging me, holding me in His hands and helping me live each day to its fullest  . . .    because sometimes I just need a hand to hold  . . .

As I close, dear readers, another song is playing in my mind.  (told you I was nostalgic today)  It is appropriately, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” Perhaps you know this song?  Well, in my mind we are all around the campfire, holding hands, (of course) singing endless verses and versions of this song.

hopefully you can join with me, just don’t forget to bring the marshmallows . . .

sincerely,     Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess – I haven’t really been feeling all that much like myself lately.  Too many changes in too short a time, perhaps?  Familiar routines stripped away, maybe? But whatever the reason, I am feeling more and more like the proverbial frog in the pot.  I hardly noticed how and can’t say for sure when I entered said pot.  It didn’t seem all that dangerous at the time.  In fact it was supposed to keep me safe.

Safe from what?  Which is the more dangerous place to be?  Inside the pot or outside of it?  These are the questions I ponder in the pot, as I tread water that steadily increases in temperature.  My safe space, (I was told I would be safe here) this soothing frog sauna, is silently, secretly oozing steam to cloud my vision.  When the steam gives way to a bubbling boil, the time for choices will be over.  The time for me to speak up will have passed.

I will no longer have a voice.  Neither will any of the other frogs in this pot with me.  The time for action will be behind us.  Do we think we are on some government sponsored frog resort vacation?  Do we imagine that when it ends we will simply return to the lives and the freedoms we so carelessly, thoughtlessly left behind?  When the stimulus money and the unemployment checks run out, do we expect to simply exit the sauna and enter into our old lives once again?

They will not be there waiting for us.  Many businesses will not be able to reopen. They will cease to exist.  Will libraries, schools, churches, museums etc. be allowed to reopen?  And with such a high percentage of the population now successfully infected with the fear virus, which is much more contagious than the corona virus, many will not venture out but remain at home while others follow suite.

Will Broadway remain dark, Disney World closed, sporting arenas empty?  It will be a ghost civilization, a masked, muffled, fear filled population, living in isolation from each other.  Community events will be no more.  Community will be no more. Well, except for cyber communities, but those can be monitored and controlled easily.  Facebook and YouTube and Google already censor what goes on their platforms.  no dissent allowed. no free speech. That would be too dangerous. People might be exposed to new or different ideas.  This might lead people to think for themselves.  Can’t have that.  Especially not in frog world.

Better just to keep the frogs in the nice warm pot, ease their apprehensions and assure them it will all be over soon.  (truth can be so ironic)  The frogs are fully expecting to return to their pre-pot world when their swim is over.  When invited in for the good of all, they were told fourteen days was the going length of stay necessary to make the outside safe again.

Somehow this turned into thirty days but that seemed reasonable and the pot was warm and the time would pass quickly.  After all, it was necessary for the greater good.  No one likes a selfish, uncaring frog.  Better to comply.  Besides,  I’m not feeling as “jumpy” as I used to, this water is just so relaxing.

The news from outside the pot is “good.”  They are getting things under control, it’s just going to take a little longer than they first told us.  The back to school date of April 6th moved to May 1st, so we settled in for an extended swim, May 1st would be here soon enough.  But then startling news came, schools would not reopen at all this school year.

The libraries no longer had a reopen date either.  They just gave up.  Other events began moving their dates further into the future.  The pot keepers shook their heads and murmured things not about returnings but about retreatings – more restrictions were added gradually over time, after we had accepted the first ones. It was really getting warm in the pot!

We had to keep our distance in the pot, of course, but now we needed masks and gloves (in addition to distance) and we were not to leave our assigned spots in the pot unless someone deemed it “essential.”  This is confusing because “essential” like “beauty” is in the eye of the beholder.  You get a bad beholder and the pot boils over.

Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  In other words to keep quiet and look the other way, to refuse to speak up until it is too late.

If they would have told me it was a permanent pot, I never would have gotten in. And neither would the other frogs have been found willing.  No more freedom of assembly?  No more football?  No more Broadway?  No more school?  No more church?  Impossible!  Did COVID-19 kill the Constitution?

But a fourteen day break/vacation?  sure that’s doable.  Keeping a little distance and not shaking hands?  sure, we can all do that.  washing our hands and cleaning surfaces?  of course, why wouldn’t we?

Never attending a full church service or a musical or a movie or a sporting event or a wedding or a graduation or family get together or travel again?  What world would this be?  Not a free one, that’s for sure.

In a free world places are open, events are taking place but participation is voluntary.  Just because a restaurant is open, no one has to eat there.  And if they don’t it will close.  That’s what freedom is – freedom to choose.

No one spoke up because who would protest a fourteen day quarantine that was going to save so many lives?  And now the pot is boiling, my time to jump has passed, my ability to jump is gone, my voice silenced along with all the other good, obedient frogs who signed up for fourteen days and received a life sentence instead.

The death of Freedom is a fearful thing.  Our silence allowed her passing unnoticed until she was gone and now we can’t even assemble to mourn her loss, to throw her a proper funeral.

Fill a free people with fear, keep them fearful long enough to heard them into the protective pot, soothe them in a sauna of promises that things will return to normal soon enough, tell them how good and noble and self sacrificing they are being and only when they are lulled into acceptance of the “new normal” tell them that there is no return to what they left behind because what they left behind is gone.

They are no longer free.  Government will tell them where they can go, if they can go and what they can and cannot do there.  Others will decide what is “essential” and what is not.  We are told the COVID-19 world is now a very dangerous place and we cannot be trusted to figure out how to walk in it, to work in it, or to live in it.  So we are not allowed to live our lives in it.  Our lives will remain on indefinite hold in the pot.

But this announcement now brings no cries of outrage or of protest.  Strange the silence that follows this proclamation.  All that can be seen or heard is the steam rising above the bubbling water in the pot.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.”   (Psalm 33:12)

“if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”    (2 Chronicles 7:14)

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (2 Corinthians 3:17)

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”   (2 Timothy 1:7)

faith not fear  . . .    freedom not fear  . . .

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

I confess, I’m feeling as if I might be suffering from PTSD and the war is not even over. This is cause for concern.  Isn’t this PTSD supposed to happen after the traumatic event is over and is safely in the past?  (that’s probably why the “P” in this acronym stands for “post”, meaning after)  Maybe I am just a little battle weary, longing for the pre COVID-19 life I used to live.  Maybe you are too?

I feel like a war time correspondent, writing to you from my bunker behind enemy lines.  I am in the trenches, (more like a deep pit) and am left to wonder if my words are making their way out into the world.  And if so, what kind of a world has it become out there? – while I have been holed up here in this bunker (well really more like house arrest) waiting and writing and wondering who is winning this war?  COVID-19 or the human race?

Rumors run rampant as they always do during wartime.  I hear the people saying the end time is near.  Could this be true, I am wondering?  Then  I read these words in Luke 17:26-30,

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.  People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark.  Then the flood came and destroyed them all.  It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.  But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.  It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”

At these words I breathe a sigh of relief.  This is not the end.  There will be more time with those I love, more time for reconciliations of all kinds, more time for people to come to know God’s love.  But why do I say this?

Luke said, in those days people were going about their business as usual, they were living their lives and that’s how it will be when the end comes.  We are not going about our business as usual right now.  We are not living our lives.  No one is marrying or being given in marriage.  (no group gatherings/no churches or other venues open/no restaurants available for food etc.)   We cannot even assemble to bury our dead and celebrate their lives with others who loved them.

Our lives are on hold right now.  We are awaiting permission to resume them, to take them up again.  We are waiting to travel to see family and friends, to hold weddings and graduations and birthday parties and retirement parties and fourth of July fireworks and picnics and all manner of celebrations; we are waiting to plant and to build up and to open up and to resume buying and selling and coming and going and hugging and holding hands and singing and dancing and working and worshiping and living and dying; yes dying – dying with those we love by our side.

We are sidelined right now, we are on the side lines waiting for the game to began again, so that we can take the field, take our places, resume our roles and remember what it was to live in community with others, face to face on a daily basis.  But those in charge of the game don’t seem to care if it resumes again or not.

After the virus has been defeated, will fear still keep us captive in our bunkers? There are medicines to cure the COVID, but there is no vaccine for fear. When fear sets in, the results are debilitating, paralyzing, and often fatal.  Fear signals the death of peace and joy and freedom as it holds us captive in its fierce grip.

COVID-19 world is a world of fear and of isolation.  Will our post COVID-19 world also be one of fear and of isolation?  Do we have anything to say about the outcome? I love these words from Psalm 34:4-5,

“I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.  Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.”

That’s what I need, to be delivered from all my fear, from the fear that surrounds me and all of us who live in this culture, ushered in by the corona virus, which many are fond of calling “the new normal.”  I am ready to be released from my bunker and from my fear.  (after all, what good would the former be without the latter?)  Then I can say with the psalmist of Psalm 40:1-3,

“I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”

I can continue to call out to my Heavenly Father knowing He hears me and that He will answer.

“Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.  You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever.” (Psalm 30:10-12)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, another day in COVID-19 world, another Groundhog Day, another beautiful spring morning for me to walk out into God’s stunningly beautiful display of spring colors from every flowering tree and bush and flower garden and yard, no wonder the birds were singing so loudly this morning – it would be hard to keep quiet when surrounded by so much beauty.

I was stopped in my tracks this morning by a particularly large, vibrant crabapple tree in full bloom, so full of blossoms, such a brilliant shade of deep pink that it should really have another color name to describe its blossoms – but I can’t think of any words to suffice, to do this tree justice.   (I guess here a picture really would be worth a thousand words)

Why had I not noticed this tree before today? I wondered.  Then my eyes wandered to the tree directly across the street and I knew the answer to my question.  There stood an equally large weeping cherry which in weeks past had been full of pale pink blossoms cascading downward, seeming to float really, a flowering, feathery canopy full of blooms, branches bending, falling gently toward the earth.

I had not been able to take my eyes off this weeping cherry tree as I walked past each day, she was just so lovely.  But now her blooms were gone, faded away, her glory now diminished a little more each day till it was no more.

And all the while, the tree across the street, the crabapple, had been coming into her full bloom, slowly, a little more each day until today her full glory burst forth, holding nothing back, every budding blossom revealing itself as if on cue.  I could not take my eyes off of her for some time.  So I stood admiring the deep pink color against the clear blue of the sky, made bluer by the contrast of her blossoms.

I glanced again at the weeping cherry tree across the street and felt a sadness I could not explain.  Perhaps she was truly weeping now.  I wanted to weep with her for what was (her former glory) while at the same time  I wanted to rejoice and revel in what is, in what was now before me – the brilliant vibrance of the now blossoming crabapple tree.

Isn’t this life?  I thought.  There are seasons and even seasons within a season, as I witnessed this morning.  The two trees taught me that.  Nothing stays still.  We are always changing.  The waxing and the waning are not just for the moon.  These spring flowering trees slowly fill with blossoms until overflowing with color and with life, they reach their full force and from that peak start an equally slow descent, flower by flower, blossom by blossom, until all have faded, fallen away – giving way to the greens of summer which will keep us all company until autumn makes her appearance.

As I stood today with the weeping cherry tree on one side of me and the crabapple tree on the other, I felt grief and gladness simultaneously.  I couldn’t exclude either tree from my gaze.  Could there be room for both?  One’s glory fading away, the other’s coming into its own at the proper time.  Gain and loss together in the same moment.  I thought of the words in Romans 12:15,

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”    I am called to do both because life consists of both.  I cannot experience the one without the other.

So there I was, suspended between the two trees, letting them tell me their tale, learning their lesson – when who should appear but my friend, the all weather walker!  Our conversation (appropriately socially distanced, of course) took many turns but in the end led her to tell me this.  She has a grandson named for her father.  Her father died two days before her grandson was born.

It’s the tale of the two trees, it’s the lesson of life, it’s played out over and over again within each day,  within each season, within each year and over the years. We cannot stop God’s cycle of living and dying.  Jesus told His disciples in John 12:24,

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”  From seeds that are “buried” in the ground come all kinds of living plants, trees, flowers and food.

This seems to mirror the miracle of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to life everlasting.  Has creation been preparing us all along, trying to teach us this mystery of life and death and life again with God forever?  Romans 6:4 talks about this mystery,

“We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

New life, that’s what spring is all about, a season of new life after the long, cold winter has left everything for dead and moved on.  But then the miracle occurs. The grass turns green, the trees start to bud, daffodils and dandelions appear out of no where along with violets, tulips, red bud, forsythia and flowering trees and bushes of every kind.

Yet even within this season of new life, flowers and blossoms reach their peak and then fade away – giving way to what follows in their wake.  It reminds me of what John the Baptist told those following him about Jesus saying,

“He (Jesus) must increase; I must decrease.”   (John 3:30)

Those two trees growing across the road from one another reminded me of those words today.  One was increasing even as the other was decreasing.  Each on their own timetable.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 says it best,

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  a time to be born and a time to die,”

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

the problem with being the clay is – you have to trust the potter  . . .  and good potters are hard to come by

(this is today’s confession – I have a problem with being the clay)

“Yet, O Lord, You are our Father.  We are (I am) the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”   (Isaiah 64:8)

ok, so I have a good potter – but can I really trust Him?

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ”   (Jeremiah 29:11)

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:13)

ok, so He is working in me and on me, forming me into what He intended me to be all along.  The Potter is the One with the vision, not the clay.  It is His vision that matters – not mine

because my Potter is the One with the unlimited, unobstructed, eternal perspective.  My perspective is limited, often obstructed and decidedly short sighted as I can’t see very far into the future at all (like not even to the end of this day)

” ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I have to confess though, (yes, another confession) being kneaded and shaped and molded on His potter’s wheel is a painful process and I don’t even get to know the outcome.  Only the Potter knows that.  Only the Potter knows what He has in mind for me.

I have to trust Him.  I have to trust that His purpose for me is good.  I have to trust Him as He uses every tool at His disposal while He works on me.

I have to trust Him to complete His work.

“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   (Philippians 1:6)

I guess when your Potter is the Creator of the entire universe you can know that you are in good hands.

So I should just relax and let the Potter work His good and pleasing and perfect will in me.  after all,

my Potter is a miracle worker – He can turn an ordinary lump of clay into something both beautiful and useful – form and function, that’s my Potter!

no matter what happens, He will accomplish His purpose for me and in me and even in spite of me.  I didn’t give Him much to work with, but as I told you, my Potter is a miracle worker.  Creating something out of nothing is His specialty.  Not even COVID-19 can stop what He has purposed to do since before time began.

“But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.”    (Psalm 33:11)

so I will submit to the hands of the Potter as He works on me, trusting Him for a good outcome.

“For we are God’s workmanship, (pottery) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”   (Ephesians 2:10)

sincerely,        Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s Sunday again.  At least that’s what my cell phone and my calendar tell me – it is Sunday.  Sundays just aren’t the same right now.  Church has gone online along with everything else.  The whole world has gone online and on lock down.  It is an online world right now.  I’m not sure which is more real to me at the moment – the world outside my own front door or the world I view on YouTube?

everything seems altered in some way, even my vocabulary has new words which I hear and use daily now.  So I might as well confess that there is a phrase that I never want to hear again.  Can you guess what it might be?  It is the ever present, overused, inescapable words “flatten the curve.”  I don’t think it is possible to go even an hour without hearing those words right now.

Along with that phrase is the currently all important word “essential.”  We now have “essential” and “non-essential” businesses, “essential” and “non-essential” travel, “essential” and “non-essential” surgeries and medical care, “essential” and “non-essential” work, etc.  The whole world seems to divide along these lines.  But I want to know, who is deciding what is “essential” and what is “non-essential”?

In my state physical therapy is non-essential.  I know of some states in which physical therapy is an essential service.  Should I cross state lines if I am in need of this service?  And if I do, would that be considered essential travel because it is for an essential purpose or service?

What is essential anyway?  We have all lost a lot of things lately, things that we thought were essential.  Are we learning what truly is essential and what we can live without?

In 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 I get an answer to this question of “what is essential?”   “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Is “essential” simply the difference between what is temporary and what is eternal?  We have all lost a lot of “seen” temporary things during this time.  But what about the “unseen” losses?  They are much harder to measure.  How do we measure what the Declaration of Independence called our unalienable rights, given to us by our Creator, including the rights “to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”?  Are they now lost to us forever?

There is something “essential” and unseen and eternal that cannot be taken from us.  Peter tells us as much in 1 Peter 1:3-6,

“In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”

Today, even though it feels like Groundhog Day all over again to me, I will say along with the Psalmist,

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us (I will) rejoice and be glad in it.”  (Psalm 118:24)

I will echo the words of Psalm 100:4-5, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”

This day, this Sunday, today I am eagerly waiting for the Sunday to come when I can say,  “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”  (Psalm 122:1)

While I wait in eager expectation for that day when our houses of worship will once again throw open their doors, I cry out with the Psalmist of Psalm 24:7-10, as he wails in longing for that day to come,

“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is this King of glory?  The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.  Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is He, this King of glory?  The Lord Almighty – He is the King of glory.”

Corona virus cannot keep You out, O Lord of glory, Lord of my heart.  Enter in today, Lord of glory – enter into every human, hurting, hopeful heart.  The doors of our churches may be closed, but may You find the doors of my heart, the doors of every human heart wide open to let You in, O Lord of glory!

sincerely,      Grace Day