Halloween On a Saturday...Again...

Eleven years ago today, I moved into my very own house. It was quite an accomplishment for me to buy a house after being on my own for twelve years; not only financially and emotionally, but also spiritually as well. Halloween is my spiritual birthday; I gave my heart to Jesus on October 31, 1994. It is a very special day to me. I have never been the same.

I was going to just re-post the blog I wrote 10 years ago about my first night living in my own home, but I wanted to add a little explanation. After all we've been through during 2020, in this year of the pandemic, it's even more special to me that Halloween landed on a Saturday again, just like the first day I lived here. 

It's like, once again, God went out of His way to remind me that I am His and He is always with me.

God has taken care of me my whole life, but it's been especially evident since I went through a divorce and started to make my own way in life alone. He has never let me down, and He never will. 

Something I didn't mention in the original post is that I had owned the house for about 10 days, but my best friend and her husband and sons couldn't help me move until after the Heaven or Hell drama at our church. I know this was all in God's plan and timing. We had to delay until the drama was over and we had a weekend.

Which just happened to be Halloween.

So,without further ado, here is the blog I wrote in 2010 about that night.

Home Sweet Home

Did I ever mention that I bought a house? I did. I am a homeowner. After renting an apartment for twelve years, eleven of them in the same apartment, it was time.  It was quite a journey, from being newly divorced and working two jobs to make ends meet in 1997 to buying a house in October 2009.  God really did a work there.  Not only did He have to get me through some really rough stuff financially, especially in those early days, He had to convince me that I was capable of whatever He put in my heart to do--with His help of course. Anyone who knows me very well knows that I have not exactly exhibited an abundance of self-confidence.  That said, just know that my buying a house is a BIG DEAL.

God had been dealing with me for months before I even started house-hunting.  He urged me to start packing up Jeff's room; a good place to start since I obviously didn't use Jeff's stuff. Actually, Jeff didn't even use his stuff, since he moved to Virginia without the two six-foot bookshelves full of books (yes, he has that many books) and a closet full of clothes. That in itself is a story for another blog.  So, I began carting books to storage, even before I was officially looking for a house.

After months of searching, I found the right house and closed on the deal.  I became a homeowner.  Now if I could just stop shaking long enough to move.  Why was I shaking?  Oh, I forgot to mention:  I was terrified to move. I was so scared of living in a house.  My little second-floor apartment had been home to me for eleven years, and it was my comfort zone. I shifted into high gear: I started really packing and moving. A really good friend and her husband and sons helped me all day on a Saturday, and I was in. I had wall to wall boxes, but I was moved in.

That night after everyone was gone, I collapsed on the couch to rest and watch a little TV before bed.  I hadn't been afraid yet.  Hmm, that was strange.  It had been in the back of my mind all day, the fact that everyone would leave and I would be there all alone in a strange house.  As I sat there on the couch mulling this over, I heard the sounds of a group of children next door, having a lot of fun at their Halloween party. Ah, how nice.  It made it seem like a friendly, safe neighborhood. 

Wait a minute...Halloween?  Was the date really October 31?  At that precise moment, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  My first night to stay in my new house was October 31.  Unbelievable.  In case you haven't read some of my earlier blogs, this just happens to be my spiritual birthday.  I was radically saved on October 31, 1994, all alone in my living room.  It was a very dramatic "about face" for me.  I truly turned 180 degrees, from running away from God and all that He stood for to running into His loving arms and repenting.  I have never been the same.

As it began to sink in that God had purposely arranged for my first night in my house to be that particular day, peace enveloped me.  It occurred to me that I was not afraid. I was sitting on my couch, just in awe of Him and praising Him for doing that for me, when He clearly said to me that He gave me this house, and He wouldn't put me in harm's way.  If  He gave it to me, which He did, then He was already here and He made it a safe place for me to dwell.

I love it when the God of the universe goes to the trouble of doing something that will be very special to me.  He knew that it would give me peace to know He did that for me. It's home sweet home because He picked it out and was already here when I got here.  My Father is awesome!

Puzzling Times

The months since mid-March, when we were told we are in a pandemic, have been hard. 

At times I've felt isolated, like I was on a desert island with no boats in sight. It seemed at times like no one cared. None of my kids live near me, and it's so evident to me lately that I am alone.

I've had some anxiety, unsure of what lies ahead. I've basically become a hermit. For over 4 months, I only left the house for two reasons:  to do a grocery pick-up, not even getting out of the car, and go in to the office twice a week to do a few things for work that I can't do from home.

When school was about to start, I started going back daily, like normal. Only it's not normal. I stay in my office most of the day, and when I do leave I wear a mask.

The whole thing is stressful and so very "not normal." At times, it really starts to wear on me.

A couple of months ago, I was taking to my son and daughter-in-law, telling them how I was struggling emotionally. I really only feel safe when I am home, so that's where I stay most of the time. I don't unload often (at least I hope not) but that day, I guess it was showing that the stress was getting to me. I was battling depression, and I needed help. We talked a while, and I felt better after talking to them. 

About a week later, I came home to find a package on my front porch. My son and his wife had sent me a puzzle that they had worked recently, along with a sweet note. I was so touched at their gesture.

It's been on my kitchen table for the last couple of months, and at times I thought I would never get it together. But today, I put the last piece in. Finished!

While working on this puzzle, it occurred to me that the Christian walk has similarities to working a puzzle. 

We think we know what is right, until nothing seems to be going right. Eventually, we cry out to God for help, and He very patiently removes the piece we placed wrong and puts the correct piece in its place. 

This happened to me time and again while I was working on this puzzle. I would think I had it right; it seemed to fit, but later on it became evident that a specific piece just didn't go where I had put it. This particular brand of puzzle has a definite feel when you have it right. It just "schloops" right in, almost like it's magnetically drawn to the spot, and there is no more doubt that it's in the right place.

I know that may sound silly, but it seemed worth saying. Depression is a dark place that I have carefully avoided for many years, but have once again come dangerously close to. Working this puzzle was a reward to me for working all day. I could come home and work on the puzzle a little each day. It gave me something to look forward to.

I've written lots of times about getting free from depression, so it's probably surprising and perhaps disappointing to some of you to read that I'm struggling again. It's more complicated than "just going back there."

Depression is sneaky. It hangs around the edges and seizes any opportunity to drag its victims back into the darkness. This time, it felt like I was walking along in the fog and to one side there was a cliff.  On the other side, though, was my Savior, holding my hand and leading me back to a safer path.

During the last few weeks I have been doing much better. I know that Jesus never leaves me or forsakes me, and I am never alone. I've been walking with Him since October 1994 when I gave my life to Him. He has never once left my side, even though at times I have felt alone. 

He has been with me through it all, and He will never leave me. He will get me through this.

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." Psalm 34:17-19

Scaredy Cat

My cat Isabel is a "scaredy cat."  She has severe anxiety, which I think was brought on in part by living across the street from the football field when she was very little. The year I adopted her was also the year that our football team decided firing a cannon was a good thing to do when we scored a touchdown.

Izzy wasn't a fan.

She is still afraid of loud noises; things like thunder, large trucks driving down the street, and dogs barking will send her scrambling to get under the bed. A few mornings ago, she was sitting in my lap purring until the dog two houses down decided to start barking.

First, the purring stopped. Then, she started the characteristic fidgeting like she does when she's nervous about something. I knew the next step would be that she would get up and go to her hiding place under the bed.

I reminded her that the dog was outside and she was inside the house where he couldn't get to her. She of course did not listen to me and soon got up and left as I figured she would.

I shook my head and muttered something along the lines of "why won't you believe me that you're safe?" Then it hit me.

We do the same thing.

God tells us in His word to not fear, but we still do. I have battled with anxiety my entire life. I am so much better, but I have weak moments sometimes.

Some nights I lie down in bed, get comfortable and start to drift off to sleep, and then I hear something. Many times I have gotten up out of bed, checked every room, and of course all is ok.

This is when I get into the Word and read the places I where I have found peace. Places in His word like in Psalms calm my heart and help me remember to trust Him:

"I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

who have set themselves against me round about."  Psalm 3:5,6.

These days, the environment of society in a pandemic lends itself to being fearful.

Sometimes I have to shut off the news and just believe God is taking care of me. I'm doing all I can do; I'm mostly staying home and wearing a mask when I have to go out. I do grocery pick up for the most part but if I absolutely have to go into a store, I do it early in the morning before it's packed.

Then, I have to Just. Trust. God.

There's a reassuring passage in Isaiah:

"Do not fear, for I am with you;

Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,

Surely I will  uphold you with My righteous right hand."  Isaiah 41:10.

God is watching over me, I know He is. I have to be reminded of it from time to time, though; we all do if we're honest. I'm posting this because I DID need to be reminded, and chances are someone else did, too.

We are going to get through this by trusting in God, by taking Him at His word. There is a Bible full of promises of how He protects His children. We have to read and believe Him. He is our only hope. As the song says, "all my life You have been faithful, all my life You have been so so good..."

I choose to trust in the goodness of God.  Please join me in trusting Him.

Stay as safe as you can and leave this burden of fear in His hands. He is watching over His own. <3

Rescued Unharmed

Wow, May 5th. That was the last time I wrote. Time gets away these days. One day fades into another, and before you know it, it's been a month. Or two.

Here it is the third week of June, and The Virus still rages on. Working from home is the new norm for me. I'm so very thankful I have a job and I can work from home, but it just feels so....abnormal. Weird. Way out of the highly acclaimed comfort zone.

I still have not been back to church services, even though my church is meeting in two services to spread people out. For starters, to me it doesn't seem to be any better to be around people than it was at the start of this. Plus, I can't hug anyone. I can't sit with anyone (unless they want to take a chance on me not being infected, or I want to take a chance on them). I don't really see the point. I'm better off watching from home, which I do, faithfully.

I don't mean to sound cynical, but those are the facts as I see them. I'm certainly not suggesting that people shouldn't go church or do things out in society. I know some people really need to be with other people. We have the freedom to do as we see fit, and that's cool.

I've been staying busy, which is good I'm told. I work from home every weekday. I go into the office a couple of days a week for 3 or 4 hours at a time to print work I've done and saved, and to get documents signed to send to the administration office. I pick up more work that has accumulated to  home to work on.

Then I come back home.

When I'm not working, I read, or watch a movie, or binge-watch TV shows on Netflix, or sometimes go for a walk. I need to go for more walks, but the motivation has not been there lately.

I have cleaned out all the closets and have a huge collection of stuff to donate to charity.

Oh, and a very important new activity: I do a weekly grocery pick up. I order my groceries online and go to the grocery pick up area, where the store associates come out and put the groceries in my trunk. Where has this been all my life?

Simple pleasures. It's the little things, isn't it?

I'm not depressed, but as a person who was depressed most of my life until a few years ago, I know the signs very well. I could fall back into it if I don't fight it.

Today I'm fighting it. Some days I don't feel like fighting it, but I still do. Maybe not as hard as on good days, but I still fight. Because I remember sitting in the dark room staring at...nothing. I remember the complete hopelessness. I remember the loneliness. I remember feeling like no one cared about me at all. I remember feeling like I was in a deep pit and there was no ladder or stairs that I could find.

I'm fighting it because I know that this is all an illusion.

All is NOT lost; it is NOT hopeless, and there are people in my life who love me.

The most important person who loves me is JESUS. He died for me (and for you!) so that we could spend eternity with Him. He loves us with an everlasting love, and His mercies are new every morning.

That's great news! Sometimes in the fight I lose sight of the prize, as it says in Philippians 3:13-- "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

So I go to Him every morning when I wake up and fall at His feet. I thank Him for keeping me alive yet another night and giving me another day to live. I tell Him all that is on my heart, and pray for a list of prayer requests that I bring to Him every day.

As long as He keeps waking me up every morning, I still have a mission on this earth. I still have a purpose, and I am still walking out His plan for my life. I may not be able to see into the future or know what He has planned for me from one day to the next, but HE knows, and that is all I need. HE has my name inscribed on the palm of His hand, as it says in Isaiah 49:16--

"Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me."

He also says in Psalm 55: 17-18--

"Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.

He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me."

He rescues me unharmed. Yes, there is a real battle going on in the spirit realm. The enemy of my soul would like to pull me into depression again, and render me useless for the Kingdom of God. But GOD is on my side and He is not going to let me lose.

I think it might be time to start on that book I'm planning to write.

Be blessed my friends. Thanks for reading my rant!

6:18 am

Yes. Contrary to popular belief, 6:18 am does exist. I just don't usually see it anymore because I haven't been setting an alarm. Since the middle of March, I've been working from home. My normal body clock, when left to its own devices, wakes me up around 7:30 or 8:00 am. 

Let me back up a bit, though. I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I had called my doctor's office to refill a prescription last Friday afternoon, not realizing that they left at noon on Friday these days. The receptionist took my message and said she would have the nurse call me Monday if she needed to talk to me. I reminded her to please change the pharmacy in my file to [chain drug store], because they have a drive through and I'm trying to stay out of [chain big box store] these days. She said ok.

Yesterday afternoon around 5:30, I got a text message from [big box store pharmacy] saying my prescription was ready. 

Seriously?!

That was my reaction. I was so upset with my doctor's office for ignoring my request to change pharmacies. I have nothing against the one they usually send my prescriptions to, but as I said before, I'm trying to stay out of stores these days.

[Heavy sigh]

So, I decided I would get up as early as I could without setting an alarm (because it's sometimes 2 am before I can get to sleep lately). I reasoned that even by 8:30 or so, it's still not going to be as crowded as it would in late afternoon, when the text came in.

Lying in bed last night, I asked God to wake me up early so I could get to the store before a lot of people were there, confident that He would if it was necessary. Laugh if you want, but He has done this for me before.

You see, in 1998, before smartphones that can be used as an alarm clock even existed, He woke me up at 6am because I asked Him to. True story. I was on a rare vacation in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I had no way to get up early enough to walk on the beach at sunrise, something I desperately wanted to do.

(You can read the blogpost on this blogspot entitled The Tide is Coming In from March 26, 2010. Look over to the right for a list of blog posts from years past).

So when I woke up at 6:18 am this morning, somewhat wide awake, I knew He had answered my prayer and caused me to wake up. I had to get up quickly before I drifted back to sleep and get to the store while it was still only Senior citizens allowed in. I jumped up, dressed, and threw on a ball cap. No time for makeup or hair.

At 6:45 am, I strolled into the store. They didn't card me, which was mildly upsetting. I mean, no one wants to admit they are over 60. I didn't want them to believe me, but they waved me on. Oh well.

No one was in line at the pharmacy. Amazing. I got my prescription, and decided to look around a little to see if some items I have not been able to find could be found. 

Score! I found hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, rubbing alcohol, and Lysol! 

God not only woke me up in time to get my prescription, He allowed me to find and purchase the things He knew I needed and had not been able to locate anywhere.

But here's the best part:  When I got back home, I had my prayer time and this is part of the entry for today in the devotional I'm reading out of right now:

 "Come to Me for all you need...there is nothing you need that I cannot provide."

Sometimes, we think we know how to take care of ourselves. I tried, by asking for my prescription to be sent to a drug store with a drive through.

Nothing wrong with that; I believe God gives us wisdom to do things to take care of ourselves. I was doing what I thought was best.

But God had a better plan.

I would have missed a blessing if I had simply gone to the drive through pharmacy. Because I went inside at the big store I was trying to avoid, I was able to find the hidden treasures God wanted to give me--and you know as well as I that in today's world, they are "treasures."

My God is an amazing God! He is my Provider!  

Thank you Father, for always providing my needs. Thank you for always knowing what's best for me and for guiding my steps. You alone know what I need and you never cease to amaze me at how you provide it for me.

You are an Awesome God! 

 

From Glory to Glory: Revisited

I'm in my 6th week of working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many of you, I have had extra time to fill. I'm home almost all the time now, and I see things that I've been putting off and eventually do them. This afternoon, while cleaning a closet, I read some old journals. Wow.

I remembered writing about doing that very thing, and came tonight to the blog to look through my old posts. I found one where I had written about that in September 2018. I think it's good to remember the things God has brought me out of, as long as I don't get bogged down and quit moving forward. 

These days, we are all wondering what life will be like on the other side of this pandemic. Will we ever get back to normal? Do we need to get back to what we used to consider normal? 

Looking at this post from 2 1/2 years ago puts those worries and concerns in a new perspective. Ahhh, but we didn't know this was coming, you say. True, we didn't. But I want to insert parts of that post into this one and let's take a look at what was going on. 

(I will italicize the posts from the Sept. 2018 entry.)

One of the reasons I journal: Encouraging myself.

I want to remember the good things in my life, and I am thankful for how far God has brought me, even though I cringe at some of the things I thought God was saying to me. I really do know more who I am in Christ these days than I did in 2001. However, the main reason I have to write it all down is so that I don't forget the miraculous things God has done for me.

This is how I encourage myself in the Lord. In the dark times, when I feel like I have nothing to say that is blog-worthy, I can read and remember the times that God provided an absolute miracle for me and be encouraged. 

 My heart is a little lighter when I am reminded that God touched me in my prayer closet once many years ago when my heart was consumed with grief over a devastating loss and He healed my broken heart on the spot. I was still hurting for a while, but I had hope and was able to function again after that very real and miraculous encounter.

Can we talk about dark times? 
 

My 2018 self didn't have a clue that life as we have known it would all but shut down in 2020 because of a new virus with no cure or vaccine yet. But still, this is encouraging because it reminds me that God is taking care of me. What was devastating to me then might not be so bad if looked at through my new lens, now acquired by weeks of social-distancing to avoid coming into contact with an unseen enemy. But it was a huge giant in my path at the time, and God took care of it. If He helped me then, He will help me now.

More from the earlier entry:

I read about the times my children, grandchildren, and very dear friends who have become family to me were together and I am thankful they are in my life. We may be far apart geographically, but in our hearts we are next door neighbors. I truly believe that distance doesn't have to effect deep relationships of the heart. We can choose to hold those dear to us in our hearts whether we see them daily or once a year. It's just like no time has passed when we do see each other again, because God has connected our hearts.

Family. We have talked to each other so much more in the last 6 weeks!

There's one good thing that has come about due to the virus, and it needed to change: My children and grandchildren, who are spread out across three states, are all talking to each other and me, like we probably should have all along. We have had phone calls, texts, and FaceTimes with one another individually many times and two Zoom sessions where the entire family--all three of my children, my son- and daughter-in-law, both grandchildren, and me--were all in the same conversation! The miracle of modern technology let me have my whole family in my house at once via my laptop screen.

To be clear, it isn't that we "weren't speaking." We were just busy living our lives and never found the time to check in with each other. This has been a good change, and we hope to keep it up after life settles into some kind of normal environment, whatever that ends up being.

Finally, the following is still true. 
It could have been written tonight or 10 years ago. We are not staying the same. We are continually growing:

Reading tonight, I was reminded that in ten years I will most likely feel the same way about the journal entries I am writing this year as I did about the ones from a decade ago. I will snicker and roll my eyes and think "how spiritually immature I was!"

That's just the way it is, though. We are not staying the same; we who are in Christ are going from glory to glory:

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 2 Cor. 3:17-18, Berean Study Bible 

Hang in there. God is working and HE will get us through this! 
<3 <3 <3

Hiding Behind a Mask

I went into the store yesterday, wearing a new face mask that a dear friend of mine made me. I had to go because I needed my blood pressure meds that I refill once a month. I didn't think of asking for a three month supply before all this COVID stuff started. I will definitely look into that.

I hadn't been inside this particular big box store since March 18 or so. I have been doing my shopping online, and getting pretty good at it. I noticed while I was there that a lot of people were wearing masks, which gave me some measure of relief. The experts say the masks generally don't protect the wearer unless they are the type they use in medical settings, but they protect others from us. Still, it makes me feel better to be wearing one, and they say it's better than not wearing one.

So, this is a fact of life now. I will be wearing a mask anytime I go out in public in the foreseeable future, and many of you will, too, I'm sure.

Even though hiding behind a mask gives me marginal protection, I will still do it. But there is one I hide behind who can give more than just a measure of protection: Jesus. To really be protected in the storms of life--and this is a storm if I ever saw one--we must hide in Him.

Psalm 91 is one of my all time favorite chapters in the Bible. It starts out:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 
I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"

I'm staying as close to Him as possible right now, because He is my hope. Farther down in verse 3 it says:

For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.

I'd say we are dealing with a pestilence. Verses 5 & 6 give a promise:

You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day;
Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 

Then in verse 9 it gets really good:

For you have made the Lord, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.

Yet another place where it says no pestilence or plague will come near us! That's good news. I looked up the word pestilence and it's "a fatal or epidemic disease."

There are three places in just Psalm 91 alone that say God will protect His own from disease. There are other places in His word as well.

Maybe you think I'm being overly simplistic, but I don't care. I'm taking MY GOD at His Word. 

I'm not writing this because I'm not afraid and so I'm telling you to not fear. No, I have my moments of being afraid, I assure you.  I'm writing to remind you to seek God when you're afraid. I still have moments of fear, and when I do, I know where to go; I run straight to my Father and remind Him (even though He didn't forget) that because I put my trust in Him and I dwell in His shadow, He promised me this. 

Sometimes I read it out loud. It increases my faith to hear the word of God. 

We are all in this together, a safe distance apart, of course. But there is One you do not have to stay 6 feet from. In fact, I'd say get as close as you can to God. He is the only safe place.

The end of Psalm 91 says:


"Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; 
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation."

Peace and love to you all, my friends.



 






 

Uncharted Territory

Hi, it's me, checking in. Still trying to stay positive here in the midst of a pandemic. Still hanging on to a shred of normalcy by getting up and getting dressed in regular clothes (most days, anyway) so I don't schlep around in my pjs every day and not even remember what day it is.

Uncharted territory. I've heard that so many times over the last 3 weeks. We are definitely in it, though. Turns out, March 13 was the last day of on campus school. So bizarre. It's like we went to bed in a normal world one night and woke up in the Twilight Zone.

So, school as we have known it, in a classroom of a school building, is over for this school year. We got the word today from the governor. Because our cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in our state, we will finish out the year with AMI (alternative means of instruction). Mostly online, supplemented with some printed materials that families without internet can use to get school work done.

I totally support his decision. It's really the wise thing to do. Still...

Never in my life have we faced something like this. Teachers that I work with are devastated. This is not how they wanted the school year to wind up. It's not how any of us wanted it to end.

I'm the bookkeeper in the school where I work, so I will have some work to do to finish up the financial aspects of the school year. I will probably find out in the next few days how I'm going to go about that. It's tricky when we have to social distance.

I'm used to being there all summer with very few others in the building since I'm a year round employee, but not like this. Not when I feel vulnerable and scared I'll get the virus if I'm not in my little house.

Yeah, I'm still a little stressed. How could you not be, just a little?

Over the last three weeks (just 3 weeks? it seems like 3 months!) things have changed so drastically. Because people in my age group do not need to be in public unless really necessary, I have developed a system for adding groceries to my online shopping cart as I realize I need something. When it's full enough, then the fun of getting a pick up time slot begins. This is no easy task in itself; there are never enough, and the times are gone quickly.

I have learned so many new things in this short time. Life is not simple anymore; I feel sometimes like I'm trying to outsmart zombies (I hate zombie movies!!!) instead of avoiding a virus. There are so many things I took for granted, but now I have a new set of skills.

I do all my grocery shopping online now. I haven't been inside a store in over 2 weeks. 

I have developed a system now for unloading the groceries after I pick them up. 

I have learned to not touch my face until I have everything I have brought into the house put away.  Groceries, mail, packages from deliveries all have to be processed before being put away.

After I have handled "possibly contaminated" items, I have learned how to wash my hands really really well. 

I go around daily with disinfectant spray, wiping doorknobs, light switches, and other surfaces that might be contaminated with COVID-19.

I could go on, but no need. I'm sure you are doing the same things every day.

I wrote about fear in my last post. I tried to encourage others with scriptures to help overcome it. It's been a tough few weeks, though. I'm taking my own advice, standing on the Word of God and trusting Him. It's not easy, though.

Everywhere I turn, news is interrupting my peace. I finally had to limit the number of times that I check the news in a days' time because it was letting fear overcome me.

Even with the fear cropping up sometimes, I am grateful that I have the option to hide in my house to stay safe. There are some who cannot do that. So I have to say that I am so thankful to all those in the medical profession, who daily walk into their jobs and face this monster virus every day. These people, in my mind, are the new superheroes. I pray for all of them daily.

This is now our world. For how long, we don't know. But I wonder if things will ever be "normal" again. 

*Deep breath.*

So, I just wanted to encourage you to "keep on keeping on," and they used to say in a previous decade of my life, probably way back there in the twentieth century somewhere.

We WILL get through this. God is still on His throne, and none of this took Him by surprise. We need to do what we know to do to stay safe, but ultimately it's up to God. We have to trust Him to take care of us.

I'm trusting Him, and even though I have my moments of being scared, I know He is taking care of me.

Hang in there. Stay safe. Trust in God. Pray for those who are on the front lines of this battle, fighting against this invisible enemy.

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust him. 

For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease."

                                                                                    Psalm 91:1-3 

 


  

The New Normal

The last time I wrote, less than a week ago, it was still reasonably safe to go to the grocery store. Groups of 50 or less were allowed to meet, and all restaurants were still open.

Today, everyone is being urged to stay home, groups of 10 or less can gather, but even that is considered inadvisable. All restaurants are closed to dining in, but you can still order take-out. How much difference 5 days can make in this quickly changing, virus-avoiding world we find ourselves in.

Our new normal, for now anyway.

I watched my church service online this morning, as I'm sure many of you did. I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. I was concerned that it wouldn't feel like being at church, watching it on YouTube. However, I've been at home since my school office shut down Tuesday afternoon, so I found that it was nice to see people I know, even if I wasn't in the same room with them. 

This introvert apparently does enjoy some human interaction now and then and I kind of miss the small amount I have found I need.

I hadn't planned to write again until a week had passed, but everything is happening so fast. I have been thinking (I find I have lots of time to do that now) and reflecting on things that I would like to share.

I am thankful for some things, and I just can't keep it to myself.

First thing, I am SO THANKFUL for the internet! If this pandemic had occurred even 15 or 20 years ago, even though we had the internet then, the technology had not evolved enough to allow us to function as well as I'm finding we can. Today I attended church online, FaceTimed with grandkids, and chatted with people through texts and Facebook. Yes, the virus is still a threat, but thank GOD we have the technology we do today.

Second, I'm thankful for the kindness that my co-workers and friends have shown me. I was venting on Facebook this afternoon (I should never do that!) and lamenting that the grocery pick-up was next to impossible because the store was out of stock on so many items. Since I'm 65, making me technically in the high risk group (although I am one of the youngest of the senior group), several people offered to go to the store for me. I almost cried, it was so sweet! I am touched and encouraged for the kindness that people are displaying toward each other during this crisis. So I am thankful and so grateful to all those who reached out to me this afternoon. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, if some of you who offered to help me are reading this.

Finally, I am so thankful to God for His word. He is always looking out for us. He never leaves or forsakes those who have accepted Him as Savior, and He always makes a way to take care of us. 

He gives us this scripture in Philippians 4:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:6-8

There is always something to be thankful for. It's a dire situation, but the blessings are there, you just have to look for them. When you do, turn your eyes heavenward, and thank God!

We are all in this together. Stay safe, take this situation seriously, but remember to be thankful to God for taking care of you. 

We are going to be ok.

What to Do When You are Afraid

I've been absent for a while now. I hope there is still someone who wants to read this blog, because it's not going away. I just had to be silent for a while.

So a lot is going on in the world now. You can't turn on any TV without hearing "Corona Virus" or "COVID-19" within a few minutes. People are stockpiling everything. Everything. The store was out of toilet paper, dishwashing soap, butter, ground beef, and most of the eggs when I was in there a couple of days ago.

I've never seen anything like this in my life.

This is downright panic we are seeing here. People are grasping at what they feel like they will need, and getting a little extra just to be sure. What causes this kind of behavior? I'll tell you my opinion:

FEAR. 

People are fearful, because, no one really knows what is going to happen next. They want to be prepared for anything, so they are buying everything.

I'll admit, it's a little scary and unsettling. It's natural to be a little scared of the unknown. I've been afraid many times in the many years that I have been on my own. Experience has taught me: when I'm afraid, run to my Father. He alone has the answers to my problems; He alone can calm my fears by reminding me of His promises. I go to His Word and read some of those promises:

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. Psalm 56:3

I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. Psalm 55:22

Ok, I like the Psalms. I had a problem with fear when I first became single again, and I camped out there for a while. I recommend you read three chapters of Psalms a day if you have a problem with fear. It really helped me when I did that.

There are also scriptures dealing with fear in the New Testament. 

Perhaps the most well known one is: 

God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

There are the words of Jesus in John, telling us to not be fearful:

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled; or let it be fearful. John 14:27


These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. 

John 16:33

The bottom line is this: the answers are in the Bible. If you are afraid and trembling with uncertainty (no judgment here; I've done it) then go get your Bible and read it. Pray, of course, pour out your heart to God, and then read His word. That's where the answers are. 

I have too many scriptures on fear to include them all here. I plan to put one every night on my Facebook page over the next couple of weeks, so check back for more.

Take heart. This too shall pass. The main thing is, do you trust God? He is your hope and your answer. He will take care of you if you give Him your heart and turn to Him.

As David says in one of his Psalms:

Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by. Psalm 57:1

He is my refuge, my safe place. I trust in Him to get me through this troublesome time.

Be blessed, my friends. <3