Remember 23rd March 2020?
"We care about you and the memories you share here"
So said the Facebook app on my phone a few days ago. To be honest, I don't post that much on Facebook (perhaps I think my life isn't interesting enough!), so I don't see that message too often! But I remembered sharing this photo.
It was a little over 2 years ago, 23rd March 2020. Boris was announcing the first lockdown on the TV, and we could see the start of panic buying having an effect on the supermarket shelves.
And in the midst of it, I shared a bible verse, which may seem oddly impractical. I didn't put any comment with it, I just shared it as an image, hoping people would read it, and soak it in, and hopefully let it change how they responded to all that was happening.
People who know me deeply would be able to tell you it's one of my all-time favourite verses. It talks slowly (at least in my head!), of love, and joy, and peace. It shows that our beliefs aren't some kind of abstract theology, they're practical, emotional, everyday. God is here, he's with us, he's for us. Sometimes he might change my situation; but all the time, he can change how I live in my situation, because I'm not walking through my situation alone.
The words are ancient, almost 2000 years old, written by a person, and for people, who knew far more difficulty than I probably ever will. And yet they knew how to be loving and joyful and peaceful in the midst of things in a way that I think we can easily miss, despite all of our technological advantages.
It's been a crazy two years. I've seen health professionals and teachers acting heroically. I've seen families grapple with home working and home schooling. I've seen a friend walk through the grief of losing a family member. I've rejoiced watching wedding ceremonies of family and friends, whilst wishing I could be there in person. You probably have too - we've all been in the same storm.
And now, life is starting to become the new normal (that phrase already seems a cliche!). That moment two years ago is starting to becoming a blurred memory for me.
But that bible verse is still fresh for me, one of my all-time favourite verses - there's just something about it that grips me!
I still hope people read it, slowly, and let it sink in. God is with us and for us. He wants to grow something in us, slowly and organically, that changes how we live and walk through life's situations, in the ups and the downs.
It's an invitation to us, to you, that we don't have to walk alone.
❤️❤️❤️
#stories #faith #reallife #lifehousecommunitychurch
