I do not know about you, but I see that I am a person of routine. This is becoming more difficult for me as I wade through these days surrounded by social distancing. To begin with, it was a “change of pace,” but the new has worn off. I can see some good things that have come out of this time. I see that families are spending more time together. Without being able to go as we please, we find ourselves at home and spending time with our families and finding new ways, or in some cases old ways to have family time. In my neighborhood, the families are outside walking and riding bikes and staying out until dark.
As we are looking for things to “fill the time,” it is a good time to re-evaluate and improve on some important areas of our lives. First, we need to spend more time in prayer. As we navigate these waters of this pandemic, we need to pray for those that are sick and our doctors and medical personnel who are taking care of those who are sick. Our hospitals are over-run with people with the virus and we need to lift these people up. We need to pray for the families of those struggling with this virus. Overall, we need to spend more time in prayer. Second, we need to evaluate our time in God’s Word. As we seek guidance to help us through these times, God’s word needs to be the first place we look. This difficult time can be a time when we spend more time in Bible study. Third, I believe we need to look for opportunities to help others. How are you serving others? There are many that are struggling with the virus and with the situations surrounding this pandemic. How are you serving other people? There are many opportunities in our community to help others through the supplies that we are sending out through our church, through our food give-a-way, through providing meals and many other ways. Our Serve Team is busy making sure that we are helping where we can in these ministries, and they are a resource to you if you are looking for a place to serve. If you are not able to get out then you can be an encourager. More telephone calls are being made and we need to do that even more. It is important that we stay in touch while we can not touch. Let us keep in touch with our church family and our neighbors.
Over the past several weeks I have had the opportunity to go with a group to the nursing homes around our community. No, we are not allowed to go in, but we as a group are having parades around these nursing homes and displaying signs and balloons as we wave to the residents through their windows. This might seem like a small thing, but for some of these residents they don’t see anyone except for those who take care of them. I tell you that we are probably getting more out of this than the residents are. I hope that you are finding creative ways to reach out to others and to stay in touch with our church family and with our community.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV
Pastor Dan Harrison