pandemic - Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

When Things are Normal

March 26, 2020 by Ellen 6 Comments

Next week, when things get back to normal…

That was my thought, while John is working from home. I’m not sure exactly what caught my attention, but it was not the norm for my quiet, retirement days. Maybe it was the time he turned on the television during the middle of the day. What is that noise? There’s no tv time mid-day!! What’s he doing? Next week…

But next week won’t return to a normal that we have known. Throughout our lives, we have milestones and events that forever alter life as we know it. Mostly good, like weddings or new babies or grand babies. Sometimes bad, such as a job loss, death or pandemic.

Pandemic.

Who woulda thunk it? A pandemic has changed our normal.

Things are forever changed by Covid-19. There is no turning back to what was.

Ezekiel 12 has a poignant verse for the Jewish exiles. Ezekiel was dramatizing what was to come – that the Judean King would be taken into exile also, and the Jewish people would be in exile much longer than they anticipated.

Ezekiel 12:6 Cover your face so you cannot see the land you are leaving.^⁠1

Cover your face. Don’t look back at what was. Change is inevitable, and it’s happening right now. But if you’re like me, you’d rather revision to and reshaping of your life to come in increments, not all at once. At least then we’d have a fighting chance of getting used to our new normal, right?

Like the Jewish people, it appears we will be in exile (self-quarantine, isolation, staying at home) longer than we had hoped or imagined. It will be a while before the storm passes and we can assess what our new normal will be. In the meantime, we can enjoy the “now” normal – the slower pace, being at our homes, virtually touching base with those we love and care about. We can be right here, right now.

And when the skies clear and the sun shines brightly again, are we going to look back and long for what was? Or are we going to look ahead with anticipation of what can be?

Are we going to weep moving forward or leap ahead with joy?

Lord God, in the midst of this storm, I pray we will be still and calm, enjoying the presence of those we love, and sensing Your presence as never before. I pray we will look forward to the future You have for us, one that is changed, but good, because it comes from You. Father, I pray it is a future with medicines and a cure for this viral pandemic, and miracle from You like we’ve never seen before! In the mighty healing name of Jesus and for Your glory, Amen.

Grace be with you,

¹Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Eze 12:6). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Waves of Change are Crashing All Around

March 19, 2020 by Ellen 8 Comments

The world is changing right before our eyes. Suddenly, what was once normal and ordinary has become abnormal and extraordinary.

Change changes me. I don’t handle it very well. It throws me out of the comfort zone I love. My normal, every day routine is a mess. All this change? Frazzles me. I don’t know which way is up.

Before all this, I could go to the grocery store, and not worry too much if there were no sanitizing wipes for the cart. Now? Never! Before, we could walk into our church services, shake hands and hug on our church family. Now? Online services. Social distancing.

While I totally get why we must do these things, such drastic changes in so short a period of time leave my head spinning. There is no time to process it all. I’m off balance and feel like I’m drowning. My head’s going under with the waves of change, and I can’t get my footing.

Until I feel it: my toes on the tip of a rock formation; My feet standing firm on solid footing. The solid rock of Christ, holding me up.

On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.^⁠1

Yes, the world around me is shifting and changing, but God. He never changes.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (CSB)

Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages). Hebrews 13:8 (AMPC)

God does not change.

He is still faithful.

He is still in control.

This pandemic did not take Him by surprise. While the world and things of the world may shift, our God never changes. Our foundation is Jesus Christ.

Shadows from the sun shift, but not the One who made the sun!^⁠2

Knowing that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, helps me to rest more firmly in Him. Peace washes over me, because I know He will never leave me. You can be filled with calm and tranquility, too, when you stand on the firm foundation of Christ.

Let me ask:

- Are you standing on the solid truth of His Word?

- Are you standing on the solid rock of prayer? Are you standing in the gap by praying for others?

- As much as possible in these times, are you standing (virtually or in real life) with your local body of Christ?

Waves of change are crashing all around us. Are you standing on the solid rock of Jesus?

Almighty God, Everlasting Father, we turn our eyes to You today. Our focus is not on our ever changing circumstances, but on You, our unchanging source of strength and courage, our foundation. We praise You Lord God, that You are sovereign and in control. In the mighty name of Jesus, our rock, we pray, Amen.

Grace be with you,

¹“The Solid Rock,” Mote, Edward 1834

²Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 822). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.