REALITY
I have been in a “bubble” of my own making. I had 3 and half days off of work, starting the new year of 2021. That does not happen very often when I can stay home. I literally did not do anything. I watched Hallmark movies-read a book that I had started and never finished-went to bed late & got up late-started a study of Nehemiah that I had been wanting to do-played with my son’s dog-took naps. I was certainly being lazy in my little “bubble.” Have you ever had any times like that? When you can shut out the world and do those things that you love so much. Reality finally hit and I had to go back to work and come out of “hiding”.
Today, when I am starting to write this blog, I had so much to do on my one day off. Laundry, phone calls and vacuuming. All the things a person, who works, has to catch up on. I decided to take a break and sat down to watch tv. What I saw was violence-destruction-a riot-fear. I wondered what country this was from. But wait, it was MY countries capital building! What in the world! I started to cry and my heart started to race. How in the world could this be happening in my great country? This was happening to us as Americans who have so many freedoms and that was built, so long ago, on the foundation of God. Whether I agree or not, voted for the president or not, this was wrong! Acts of violence like I was seeing, was sinful!
We, as Americans, have become too spoiled to our freedoms. Some have become violent and take our freedoms for granted. There are select groups and people, who love to insight this type of violence. They build up the emotions of people and prey on their peaceful demonstrations.
We, as Christians, need to get on our knees and pray for our country and the new president who is coming into office. We need to pray that those who are in sighting this type of violence, making us feel fearful, will be brought to justice.
What a way to start our new year of 2021. Everyone started the new year so hopeful that these new vaccines will help us contain this terrible silent enemy. The pandemic of 2020 has brought us all to our knees and made us fear the very essential act of breathing. But then, this happens.
Whew! Well, I got that out of my system! Those of you who know me, realize that I always try to see the glass half full instead of empty. Always trying to see the good in a bad situation. As I sat on my couch and watched all of this violence enfold, it was very hard to see anything good, or see anything I could do to not feel so fearful. Or is there?
Let’s look at a couple of things that we can do to see a glimmer of light and hope in the middle of the chaos.
- PRAY: I was talking to my dad that night. I could hear in his voice, that the scenes that were happening and were being shown on the tv, were upsetting him, like they had me. I told him to turn off the news and go back to the westerns he loved. That is what I had done as well (not to watch westerns) but to get away from those images that were upsetting me. Yes, we need to stay informed, but when our hearts feel so heavy and hopeless, we need to get away from those visuals. We need to get on our knees, pray for our country and these people who have done wrong. Isaiah 41:10-13 reads “Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you, shall be ashamed and disgraced. They shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish. You shall seek them and not find them. Those who contended with you, those who war against you, shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing. For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.” God isalways just one prayer-one thought away, to help us to not be fearful. We can always reach out to Him through prayer. God is our safe place.
- DO SOMETHING ELSE: Play a game with your kids. Listen to their squeals of delight in their innocent voices. Throw the ball for your dog. Take a walk. Take a deep breath. Focus on your breathing and calm that fear. Open your Bible. Go to your favorite verses and let them calm your soul and help you remember, that no matter what is going on around you, that God is helping you and walking by your side. Acts 17:11 “…they received the word with all readiness, and searched the scriptures daily finding out whether these things were so.” When you have God’s word in your heart, those verses will automatically come to mind when the tough times come and will bring peace to your troubled heart.
- TALK TO A TRUSTED FRIEND: Let us as brothers and sisters in Christ, band together and help each other through this hard time. I sure have turned to friends through the years. When I have something troubling my heart, saying it out loud to a friend, helps me to see things in a different light. It helps to take that burdened heart free from the chains I have wrapped around myself, setting me free from the weight that is trying to push me down. I have always told people, that if they do not share their heart with me, how do I know how to pray? Proverbs 18:24 reads “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer that a brother.” Friends are truly a gift from God!
- PRAY A SPECIFIC PRAYER: Center a prayer on one thing throughout yourday.Our law enforcement came out in huge numbers during this assault. Their lives were put on the line while trying to keep peace and order. My oldest, grandson, is in the police academy and will graduate within the next month. The year of 2020, showed us scenes of some police officers not doing the right things. Using their authority to hurt others. During that time, there were riots, looting and burning causing much pain and endurance of our police. Once again, some fueled those who were having peaceful demonstrations, to do some unthinkable things to innocent people who had already been hurt by the pandemic. Please lift up my grandson and other police, that they will have the courage to keep the peace through the tools that they have been trained to do. Also, pray for this silent virus, that has claimed so many lives. Pray that these vaccines will help defeat it. I have a granddaughter who is in the medical field and is working at a hospital where she has to treat COVID-19 patients. Pray for her and the other health care workers-other essential workers-that God will be with them and help them to have physical and mental strength to make it through each day.
- THIS IS NOT MY HOME: The reality of our world we live in, the country we live in, is that the devil is working really hard to pull us away from God. The devil is laughing in the realization that he has caused chaos. Yes, we have a home here on this earth, but it is not our final home. If we are blessed to live many years, (like my grandmother who was a month away from being 100 years old) those years are nothing to compare to the eternity that we will live with God, if we have been faithful. We will not have the pain of what this world brings us. Revelations 21:4, reads “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.” That is our home! Eternal life! Forever with God. When we live through the burdens of our life, we must hold onto the promises that only our God can give. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us about these promises. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” God keeps His promises.We cannot say that about everyone on this earth. The final hope is that this earth is not our forever home. Heaven with our God is our final home.
Thanks for reading this blog. The actions of some during this last week has helped me to remember that this earth is not our home forever. Put everything aside and pray right now for healing for our country-for our earthly home right now and thank God for His promises!
The reality of the situation we all observed at the capitol is, all of that is a part of this world. Remember the reality of the hope we have in God’s promises if we obey and trust in Him, we will be able to make it through another day on our journey to a better home-heaven. I want to leave you with a verse we can hold on to.
Deuteronomy 4:29-31
“But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart, and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God, is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them.”
Till next time! Keela