Ponderings from the Pandemic and the Storm

Easter was already weird.  Who would have ever imagined when 2020 began fresh and new that we would all be staying home due to forced quarantines and social distancing as a result of a pandemic?  Who would have believed that the entire country would just shut down?  Who could have imagined that we would be worshipping from our homes livestreaming with our fellow believers?  Before now we all thought pandemics were a thing of the past, only to be read about in the history books.  But 2020 has shown us different.  All of these things we would not have believed could happen did.  So, Easter 2020 found us all at home having small family gatherings with egg hunts for a single child in some cases.  

For our family this Easter included four generations of us confined to the same house.  The mix includes 6 adults and one toddler.  We decided to make the best of this Easter by worshipping our Lord and Savior, continuing with an egg hunt for our great granddaughter, Brighton, and having a traditional Easter lunch.  We did exactly that up to a point.  

On Saturday before Easter the weather service had predicted severe storms with all the right elements for tornadoes for Sunday.  We paid attention and discussed our shelter in place plan and went on with our festivities.  We sat down to enjoy our lovely Easter lunch on Sunday and the first warnings came through on our phones.  We watched for a bit and then decided according to plans, to take to our office and the closet under the stairs until we knew it was safe.  

I’ve learned in my almost 70 years that there are lessons to be learned from every situation and this one did not disappoint.  My safe spot was my little closet sized office along with my granddaughter, her husband, our two dogs, and my great-granddaughter, Brighton.  Of note is that Big Al chose to “wait and see” before taking shelter.  Thankfully that worked this time. 

Ahead of time they had piled pillows from my bed in the floor ready for us.  As we were finishing up lunch and trying to decide whether to take cover, the power went out.  So, here we are in the dark, in the closet waiting for the storm to pass, when it hit me.  This tiny child had come into this scary place of uncertainty without a single doubt.  She wasn’t afraid, she didn’t cry, she simply let herself be carried into the darkness because she knew she that in her daddy’s arms she was safe no matter what it looked like.  

As we waited, it hit me!  I want to be like Brighton.  I want to go into the darkness, the uncertainty, and yes, even the disappointment and pain unafraid and confident that in my Father’s arms I am safe no matter what the storm looks like.  Too often I take my eyes off of Him and look, like Peter, at the storm and not the Creator who not only made it all but is sovereign and rules it all with perfect love and according to his perfect plan.  Jesus said that we need to be like little children and as I watched this precious little one, I knew exactly what He meant. 

During this pandemic the twenty third Psalm has taken on new meaning for me.  I have marinated in this scripture, read and re-read it, and soaked up the comfort and hope it offers.  He is my Shepherd, he provides all I need, and “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for You are with me”.   So even in the pandemic, in the storms, and in the darkness, I rest in the arms of the One who cares for me.  Like Brighton I am unafraid.