Wind, Earthquake, Fire, Silence
My church had in person worship a couple of weeks ago for the first time since the pandemic. We wore masks and we did the elbow bumps instead of hugs or handshakes, but it felt more normal than watching the live streamed version from my home. Just as I thought my world was returning to a sort of normal, the cases starting rising with the Delta variant. Areas are reinstating restrictions and once again, and we need to proceed with caution. I was attending training recently and the statistics that were presented showed COVID had increased depression and anxiety in many people (I am not sure I needed any statistics to know that the depression and anxiety were more apparent). Maybe this is closer to normal than before we had the vaccine, but normal for the foreseeable future will be a new normal.
If I expand my view beyond the local church, it seems like the world has nothing that is what I remember as normal or peaceful. I have been heartsick with the collapse of the condominium in Florida. Buildings that collapse are supposed to happen in other countries, not the United States. Every Monday there is a recount of how many shootings happened over the weekend, including this last weekend with a shooting at a baseball game. In Germany and other parts of Europe flooding has caused loss of life. I could go on. I need to find peace in the world. I need my connection with God to sustain me through all the uncertainty and chaos.
Over the last weeks I keep being drawn to the passage about Elijah searching for God in 1 Kings 19. Elijah was to go to the mountain for the Lord was about to pass by. There was a great wind and God was not in the wind. Then there was an earthquake and God was not in the earthquake. Then there was a fire and God was not in the fire. And then there was sheer silence. I find God in the silence. I set aside at least a few minutes every day to stop all the noise and just sit in silence. I can share all that I am thankful for and also all of the things that make me heartsick.
Each of us needs to know how we connect to God. What we were doing before the pandemic may not work in today’s environment. Have you found the way you are connecting? Are you sharing all that is in your heart? No matter how much chaos is around us, and no matter what changes we face, we can be assured God is waiting for us to connect. Find your silence or whatever way you connect.
Rev. Linda Holbrook , Board of Directors of FUMSDRL/Hearts on Fire, July 2021
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