We finally made it!
After waiting and waiting ... didn't it feel like it would never be over?
Was 2020 going to last F-O-R-E-V-E-R?
Then just as quickly as it came, suddenly it's about over!
But, it's only the calendar changing. 2020 may be gone in a few weeks, but we'll still be dealing with a pandemic and all the social and life-changing consequences that come with it.
So it's actually not over ... there's more coming our way yet ...
We miss how it used to be. We miss our old routines. We miss friends. We miss family. We miss classrooms. Some of us miss our jobs. And traveling. I miss seeing people's faces!
And we stay so confused.
Because of all the division we get conflicting information ... Lock up. Open up. A vaccine is coming so get vaccinated. A vaccine is coming, don't get vaccinated. Stay inside. Go outside. Keep gatherings small. Don't gather at all.
We want somebody to blame. Because if you find out who caused it, you can go back and have them undo what they did ... right?
Or maybe we should turn to science. Human ingenuity. We've got these big brains and persevering spirits and we can figure it out ... right?
And we don't need to fret over lost jobs and destroyed businesses. The government has lots of money that will keep rent paid and food on the table. And printing presses to print more when that runs out ... right?
Maybe ...
We all feel out of control, but there is Someone who is in total control. It's not so important who is the president, or the senator or governor or mayor or town councilman. Or who is ruling any country on the planet, for that matter. And one day those presidents, senators, governors, mayors, councilmen and rulers will have to give an accounting for how they led and handled their positions of authority.
Because, ultimately, there is only one King.
And He is still – and will always be – in total control.
I like to joke about being a recluse. Because the world is loud and hectic, and I don't like loud and hectic. I like quiet, calm and peaceful. So from childhood I learned to just retreat back to my room. Hiding like that had a profound effect on me in ways I didn't understand. I suppose I thought that finding peace is mostly about avoiding what wasn't peaceful.
But peace isn't found by avoiding the chaos. True peace walks deliberately and triumphantly through the chaos. It doesn't hide ... it overcomes!
December is always a reflective time of year for me. I like to look back and see where I am on this path I'm traveling ... because I'm in the middle of a love story! And I want to brag on my Lover, so this month I'm going to tell you my love story. Much of my story is way too personal for a public blog, but a lot of it is not, so we'll keep this broad and minus the dirty details.
Ravi Zacharias once said that we're all really just beggars, and the ones of us who have found the Bread need to let the others know where it is ...
If you're struggling through this pandemic and the noise of the world, perhaps you will find some encouragement ... or maybe you'll just think I'm nuts! That's okay. We each find our own path ... I have found mine and I pray the same for you.