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It was a dark night of the soul. So begins our spooky tale. Gather around the campfire – if you dare. We won’t encounter any ghosts or need to run from hockey mask wearing murderers. No monsters or other-worldly creatures. But I guarantee you spine-tingling, gooseflesh inducing terror as we recount…the year 2020! Muah-ha-ha-ha!
Ok, maybe this year hasn’t been haunted; but it has been crazy, unexpected, unplanned, isolated and ( if you haven’t heard this enough) unprecedented. When you roll all those things together, you get a ball I want to kick to the curb! As my daughter said recently, I would rather swallow a jean jacket than relive the horror.
The Australian bush fires carried over into the first quarter of the year killing untold numbers of animals. The California wildfires followed. Covid-19 built steam until it shut the whole world down, killing and infecting huge portions of the population and forcing us all to wear masks – long before Halloween. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others died. We mourned, we protested, and we rioted. Loneliness and isolation still run rampant as schools, restaurants, stores and churches adapt to changing social distancing rules.
Presidential election years are always a disaster, but did you see the first debate? I’m not sure what’s more frightening than that! And somewhere in the mix a murder hornet made an appearance? That’s the subject of a horror flick if I’ve ever heard one! There are many other components of 202o that I lack space and time to mention, or I have blocked them out to preserve what’s left of my sanity. But you get the gist.
In my family alone we have seen physical dangers, mental illness, broken bones, depression, job loss, and spiritual warfare. Now before you log off the internet wondering why you signed up to read these depressing posts, I do know the light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know when the pandemic will be over. I have no clue when or if life will resume some measure of “normalcy”. I can’t promise an end to racial strife or guarantee that any politician ever will be civil and above board. (Get to the point, Lauren).
But God…
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalms 46:1 NIV He promises to always be with us and lend us the same power that He used to raise Jesus from the dead. That doesn’t mean we won’t still have problems. In fact, He guarantees that we will (John 16:33). We live in a messed up world, after all. But He promises to comfort us in them, so we can pass that comfort on to others (2 Corinthians 1:14).
God assures us in Revelation 1:17 that he was here before anything in this world and that when Coronavirus and governments and our earthly bodies are gone, He will remain. And Romans 8:28 says, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. No matter how bad it is, He can use it for good purposes if you are His.
John 3:16 gives us the instructions for becoming His. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV You only have to believe. Trust Him. And once you’ve been justified through faith, God brings peace( Romans 5:1). You may not always feel it in a moment of struggle or sadness, but the peace is always there. Knowing what He has saved you from and what you are being saved to can usher that peace back in. Just lean into Him.
Conclusion
I guess our story is not so scary after all. If you would like to hear more of the story of God’s love for you, I would like nothing better than to share it with you. Contact me at lauren@laurensparks.net and we will email, text, call or go to coffee if you are close by. It’s my favorite story to tell.
And now for this week’s featured post.
Engage multiple senses with Jeanne Takenaka’s Desert: How to Trust God to Provide in Worrisome Times. This gorgeous post combines breathtaking scenery photos with a message we might all need to hear right now. Thank you for linking up, Jeanne.
1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.
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We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.
MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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HEATHER HART & VALERIE RIESE – Candidly Christian
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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I have been thinking in this same way. Man’s ways change but God’s ways stay the same. Steadfast and filled with love.
What a great way to put it. Thank you!
“But God” says it all Lauren. I honestly don’t know how people who do not know God can navigate these perilous times!
I don’t know either, Donna.
😁”Swallow a jean jacket”😂
Your daughter has a gift of expression!
I couldn’t resist using that one, Michele.
It is always in our perspective, isn’t it? We can view it all as a torment that will ruin us or we can find opportunities in it for growth. Where I have grown most during this insane calendar year has been in letting go of a lot of what I cannot control. The more I do it, the easier it becomes to just accept that certain things are not for me to even try to control and so I hand it right over to the power that does control it. Thank you very much for taking that off my shoulders, God! This was a great post! I always enjoy your writing and your daughter is a witty one, too! I laughed out loud at her retort to 2020! Thanks for linking with me.
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
The idea that we are in control is always an illusion isn’t it. Thanks so much for sharing with me.
This year HAS been something else! But I’m glad you shared Romans 8:28; I’ve held onto it during many perilous times in my life, and He has always brought me through.
A perfect verse to give us hope, Jerralea.
Psalm 46: 1 is one of my favorite verses. Reading that after awhile gave me some feeling of comfort. I’m glad you mentioned it in your post.
Thanks for your visit to my blog. My son has PDD-NOS.
So thankful for God’s word!
“But God . . . ” yes, that’s enough, isn’t it? Because He is more than enough to help us through every challenging, hard, painful thing this year has thrown at us. I’m so thankful that He reigns above all of the hard of 2020, and that He loves us through it all.
Thank you for featuring my post. I’m honored. 🙂
It was a privilege to feature you! And I could have stopped the post with “But God” couldn’t I?
Whew! I was glad when you wrote “God is our refuge and our strength”. I was getting spooked by all the reminders of everything that 2020 was. *Is.
Rigtht!