Show me your ways, O Lord; Teach me your paths.
(Psalm 25:4, NKJV)
Looking back, it seems like a dream, or perhaps a nightmare. For eight consecutive Sunday mornings in the Spring of 2020, our church family did not personally congregate out of a desire to cooperate with public health guidelines, reduce the spread of the pandemic, and “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 outbreak. Such a suspension of onsite worship was unprecedented in the history of our congregation. It was surreal.
No one in government, public health, education, religion, commerce, media, or any other realm of society offered sufficient explanations or instructions. We washed our hands incessantly, stood six feet apart, wore masks, and laughed at the toilet paper crisis. Some of us cut our own hair. Fear and confusion competed for supremacy. Some denied or downplayed the severity of the health crisis while others may have even exaggerated the danger. Tragically, many people died. We also paid a price financially, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and in our personal freedoms. As society gradually puts the pandemic behind us, let us give thanks that even in the most difficult challenges of life, no matter what may plague us, God will always guide us safely through.