The Word of the Month: PanGodmic
March 31, 2020
Hello from Isolationville! Boy, can life change in a hurry or what? When I wrote the February Doodle, everything was speeding along as usual in our world, or at least as far as we knew. Then in a matter of days in early March we started hearing about a virus in China that was spreading quickly and BOOM! We suddenly found ourselves in learning about something called a Coronavirus Epidemic. Soon we heard the word Pandemic being used as more and more cases appeared all over the world, including our own beloved nation. Social Isolation, Mortality, Face Masks, Hand-washing, Test Kits, Age Demographic, Hoarding, Models, Mitigation, Hot Spots, Floating Hospitals, Economic Recession, School Closings, Business Closings, and Quarantine quickly became daily terms used in the constant news updates on television, radio, newspapers and online.
The world has been shut down by a tiny organism that we can’t even see without a microscope! It’s hard to believe that a virtually invisible virus can wield such power over all of us. It’s a tad scary, actually more than a tad. But here’s what I thought about today. This tiny, powerful virus may be our “invisible enemy,” but guess what? We also have an invisible GOD that was not surprised by this pandemic. He is fully capable of squashing this viral enemy. His power is stronger than anything in the natural world! So how come He allowed such a thing to happen? Or how come He doesn’t just squash it already?
I’m certainly no expert on how and why God works, but I do know that according to Romans 8:28 He works everything for good for those who love him. I will quote the verse from my new favorite translation, The Passion: “So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” That doesn’t mean God brings bad things into our lives, but He allows bad things to happen, and if we love and trust Him, He will take those bad things and turn them into good things. Sometimes bad stuff causes us to see what we need to change in our lives, or what we’ve taken for granted, or how much we need to turn to Him in a crisis. All of those are good things.
So here we are, pulling together as a country and as families in the midst of isolation. We’re working together to help people we love and people we don’t even know. We’re sharing our resources with those who have none. We are spending more time with immediate family members, instead of following our usual hectic schedules. We are taking time to be grateful for all our blessings. Hopefully we are learning to be more loving, understanding, and positive toward our fellow earthlings all over the world because of this pandemic.
Colossians 3:12-14 says: “You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity.”
Let’s strive to be mature in our faith as we work toward an end to our isolation, so that when we get back to normal, our normal will be better than ever!