Today’s Word from Pastor Jim
April is here. Thank God that we made it through March. March came in like a lion and never really backed off. March was marked by disruption, uncertainty, shock, fear, and finally, isolation. Church, sports, school, all things social, were canceled. With very little warning, we were immersed into a lifestyle that we could not have imagined just a few months ago.
April is here, and it has been far more brutal than March. April is here, and so we settle in to face the reality that this crisis will not soon be over. This battle, like most, will be fought on two fronts. Overcoming the crisis will demand that we face challenges that are both physical and mental. Understanding what we are up against will give us a better chance of weathering this season of disruption.
The PHYSICAL CHALLENGE can be met in two ways:
1. Stay home.
2. Get out as you are able to walk the neighborhood.
There is a lot of Good News—gas is now under $1.00 a gallon in much of the country. So, stay home.
Jesus loves you! So, stay home.
God forgives you all your sin. So, stay home.
Your TLC family loves you and can support you at this time. So, stay home.
Your pastor and our staff love you and pray for you. So, stay home.
If you need groceries, let us know in the church office, let others go for you, so that you can stay home.
We do not live in a densely populated area. So, get out and breathe the fresh spring air. See God’s beautiful creation with new eyes. Move around safely, keeping your distance from others.
If you stay home, your odds of staying physically safe are very good. But staying home, remaining isolated for weeks on end, brings its own challenges.
The MENTAL CHALLENGE can be met in a variety of ways.
1. Keep a journal. Write down your thoughts and feelings. A prayer journal would be appropriate and so would a journal of thankfulness. Remind yourself in writing of the many blessings that have come, and continue to come, your way.
2. Turn the news off! Can’t do it? Then at the very least limit your toxic dose of anxiety to one hour a day. There is very limited value in a steady diet of fear. The world is not ending, and if it is, I will send you an email.
3. Watch good content on cable or online. We have been watching Ken Burns documentaries on the Dust Bowl and the Civil War. Good story telling, good history, and good perspective.
4. Read your Bible and say your prayers. Read the Psalms, pray the Psalms.
5. Watch and read the messages, music, and videos that we are sending you from TLC.
6. Get out of your own fear and anxiety by reaching out to others. Most of the nation is shut-down. This is a perfect time to make phone calls, write letters or emails, and send cards. Reach out and you will find that you not only help others, you will also feel less isolated yourself.
7. Mark dates on the calendar. May 17th is perhaps our first worship back together at TLC. July 4th is Independence Day. July 11th, August 1st, August 12th, September 14th; mark every day because when this is over, every day will be a holiday and we can talk, hug, drink coffee and worship together.
This will come to an end. Life will return to a more normal rhythm and we will emerge changed for the better. We will be more thankful, we will take less for granted, we will have a new appreciation for the simple pleasures of life.
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things… And the peace of God will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9.
I give thanks in every remembrance of you!
Much love,
Pastor Jim
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