Covid-19

Rejoicing Together Again

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Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? Psalm 85:6 ESV

During the pandemic many of us began to get just a small taste of the loneliness that those living in long term care face daily. During the height of the lockdowns people rarely left home and when forced to go out, there was both social distancing, as well as the wearing of masks making everyone seem anonymous. Some of us dealt with the isolation by watching endless reruns, others rearranged the furniture or put together 1,000-piece puzzles. While these activities distracted us for a while, our problem was that God created us for community. We were created to share life together. Now, after more than a year of social separation many of us have forgotten how to connect. The good news is that God has a restoration plan. Notice that today’s reading focuses on the word “Us”. Just as the Lord’s Prayer begins with, “Our Father”. This Psalm of David begins with the cry, “Revive us!”

His prayer reminds me of a story my father told me of his time in the war. During the invasion of Anzio his landing craft was hit with a bomb. His ship exploded and he along with everyone on aboard were thrown into the sea. Dad only remembered beginning to swim and then losing consciousness. Later he woke up on the beach with a severe head wound. His unit had been separated by death and destruction, and yet his healing took place in a hospital, surrounded by other people. That is what God has for us today as well. He has a plan to revive and restore each one of us. No bombs that have separated us in this battle can destroy God’s plan. If we put our trust in Him, our wounds will heal and by His grace we can rejoice together again!

Tree Paint, Masks and Thoughtfulness

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And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31-32 ESV

When I was a young man I worked as a tree surgeon for many years. We tree climbers were a unique breed who loved working outdoors, had an unhealthy desire to risk life and limb (no pun intended) and to a man we all hated tree paint! “Tree paint?” you might ask. “What in the world is that?” Well try to imagine the contents of the La Brea Tarpits where the dinosaurs died and imagine further it being packed into cans with short brushes. Yup – those were our paint pots and we carried them everywhere throughout every tree we pruned. The rule was that every cut we made larger than a quarter must be slathered with that sticky black stuff. We got tree paint in our hair (No fun getting that out at night). It also ruined every shirt, pair of jeans and work boots and even worked its way into some rather private locations! But somewhere in the late 1970’s one wonderful scientist found out something that was the best discovery since chocolate: tree paint didn’t work! Yes! You heard it right. The very stuff we had been carrying out to the furthest limbs of the biggest trees actually didn’t do a thing! The day our boss came in with the news, he phrased it like this, “Even though we know this doesn’t help the trees, our customers are so used to seeing it that we may need to phase it out gradually.” Most of the men laughed, then cheered, and went out back of the shop and gleefully tossed their tar pots into the dumpster!

That scene from years ago reminded me of the news the other day that those of us who are fully vaccinated pretty much aren’t going to need our masks anymore, especially outside. Here in Florida with temperatures climbing into the 90’s that is great news indeed! I am just grateful that we are nearing the end of this terrible pandemic and am not shy about tossing the memories of empty streets and full emergency rooms, along with some of my worn out masks right into the dumpster! But there are a lot of people still very afraid – just like our customers and they will need time to adjust. We do need to be thoughtful as we slowly get back to normal, because following Jesus means being thoughtful and that includes being kind and loving all our neighbors!

Photo by Mare Collantes on Pexels.com

Through the Great Waters

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The closing of the door to nursing home ministry during Covid reminds me of this verse. 14 months ago the doors closed to in person visitation and frankly I was unwilling to continue putting myself and others at risk. Then came long uncertain and often confusing months of terrifying statistics and our world shut down to silence.

During that time I began producing weekly videos and put out a devotional newsletter as an effort to stay connected and to bring a little cheer. These were not professionally done nevertheless the residents seemed to like them. What a joy it was today to step out of those great waters today as I began singing again for my dear friends in memory care at Sunshine Christian Home. This is the second of three facilities where we used to have services to reopen.

A few even remembered me! I say all this to encourage you to never give up on what God has given you to do or the field of service he has called you to. No great waters are too great for God! In fact God delights in making a way through impossible obstacles because just like the children of Israel we can rejoice on the other side of the sea. For the record, the first song we sang after 14 months was, This is the Day. Yes this is most certainly the day the Lord has made!

Tomorrow the third place where I used to hold services has invited me also so I’ll update you on how that goes. If anyone has been involved with ministry at Long Term Care facilities and you have questions let me know.