When will we get back to normal? The question rolls off our tongues with frustration. A portion of doctors and news channels report one thing while others assert the opposite. Leaving us to ponder each new revelation—politicized or truth?
So we feel like a tossed salad— left to sort out a smattering of facts, drenched with a dressing of popular opinion—cause does anyone really know?
Eat out or not eat out?
Movie or no movie theater?
Mask or no mask?
Church or no church?
Singing or silence?
The buzz words, a new normal, reek of change—making us fearful we will never go back to the life we once knew. And it may not…
We often face dilemmas in this life, but when has the whole world been slathered with such universal queries? From Amsterdam to Atlanta and Dubai to Dallas—we all ask the same questions. When? How? Where?
And as the regulations ease, some venture forth bold as black coffee and others shrink back like a cheap steak on the grill.
Let’s face it—Social distancing is tough to bear. We hesitate to touch. We hold back our hugs. Yet we crave human interaction and something shrivels inside us when we are denied that touch. “Air hugs” sound like an appropriate substitute but offer no real satisfaction.
I visited my parents this week and stepped foot in their house for the first time in nearly three months. Our visits during these past weeks have been regaled to the back patio. As I cross the threshold I hesitate, and Mama stands unsure, waiting for my cue—Hug? No Hug?
My “normal” greeting would have been a warm embrace. Yet I find myself restrained each time. Not out of fear for myself—but fear of infecting them unknowingly. And I acutely feel the emptiness of my arms.
I know the research teams work overtime for a vaccine, but at what point will our patience wear so thin that we thrust our hands in the air and say, “I’m done! I’m tired of hiding— I want to live my life?” And as we emerge, will we jump in with both feet, tossing caution to the wind? Or will we take baby steps, testing the waters, ready to pull back in a flash?
This is messy stuff and we have to figure out our comfort levels as uncertainty plagues us. As we decide, we weigh those dreaded words—Wait. Be patient. Be still.
God. Is. Never. Uncertain.
Even in this time of thinning patience and hesitation—He is in control and this pandemic will end on his timetable. He assures us there will be trouble in this life, but he comforts us with the assurance of his daily presence.
So what can we do?
Breathe deep into God’s promise of help
Pull out our patience
Pad it with prayer
And remember this too will pass.
In Psalm 46 He offers hope. He reminds us He is our refuge and strength. The next verses conjure up fearsome images of chaos and destruction as “the earth melts,” yet the writer never doubts who is in control. Our trials and our fear of this virus are known to God.
And He shoulders them with us— always there to help if we will let Him.
God is our refuge and strength,
always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!
A river brings joy to the city of our God, the sacred home of the Most High.
God dwells in that city; it cannot be destroyed.
From the very break of day, God will protect it.
The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!
God’s voice thunders, and the earth melts!
“Be still, and know that I am God!
I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”
Psalm 46:1-6,10 (NLT)