Saturday, May 2, 2020
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Carol Bauer
As you know, my wife, Carol, prepares a monthly prayer alert. I hope you will share Carol's thoughts with your friends and fellow worshipers. Thank you for taking an interest in her monthly devotion. --Gary
The unique situation in which we now find ourselves as a country has led to many changes in daily life. Schedules are upended and those who are able to work from home are thankful to have that option. But millions upon millions are stuck at home with no regular income stream. Children are home from school and require parentally supervised home schooling or extensive hands-on care for the younger kids.
Many families are juggling a huge drop in income, heavy family responsibilities and fear about their future livelihood and the direction of the country. The rent or mortgage payment is due. The credit card bill has arrived. The kids are bickering as the novelty of the situation has worn off. They have no clear idea of when this will end.
In short, there is an overriding sense that we have lost any semblance of control over both our daily lives and our future. Decisions about when our state or community will reopen are out of our hands, adding to the sense of helplessness. For those who thrive on order and long-term planning, this is an uncertain and scary time unlike any they have ever known.
Heavenly Father, we turn to you for comfort, guidance and peace amid the daily turmoil. Your love for us and your presence in our lives is the one certainty on which we can depend. We ask you to reveal yourself to us in ways that will comfort our soul.
Help us make this a time of deepening faith. May we remember that you are not angered by our questions. We want you to be the keystone amid all that we are wrestling with by showing your steadfast love and lighting the way for each of us. Wrap us in your comforting arms. May this be a time when our faith in you is stretched and deepened.
While the U.S. economy reels, job losses mount and uncertainty continues, there are some changes to our day-to-day life that have yielded unexpected and positive consequences.
Families with young children now have much more time to engage with one another. Prior to the coronavirus, parents often lamented their over-scheduled lives and complained that family time was insufficient. Now, with no school activities, sports practices or after school lessons, families have been handed large chunks of time together. That elusive family time is available! And, creativity abounds.
Families are doing yard work, taking walks, playing outdoor sports together. They are planting gardens, cooking or baking, learning to play chess, doing puzzles together and getting acquainted with the neighbors. Communication is open and not rushed.
When I look around at our extended family or neighborhood families, I see families taking this stressful season and making it a memorable time that will produce personal growth and good memories amidst the sadness, fear and economic distress.
We have all had to learn to adapt to unexpected circumstances. Though exceedingly difficult at times, we have also learned how to adjust and sometimes we surprise ourselves with our flexibility.
Lord, we seek your guidance as we try to make the very most of this unexpected season. We look to you for encouragement as we dig deep, searching for ways to engage the young people in our homes, friends nearby and the lonely in our neighborhood without a connection to others.
We pray that we would be open to attending church online, participating in a Bible Study via Zoom or reaching out to a single person in our church who could be very lonely. Remind us that the church is not the structure but a body of believers. Open our hearts and minds to showing your love in unique and unconventional ways.
Finally, please continue to pray for the president, vice president and our elected officials at all levels of government. Ask God to give them wisdom as they address the economic and health needs of an anxious people.
Pray that our Heavenly Father would prompt them to calibrate their decisions keeping in mind the whole health needs of the nation -- physical, economic, emotional and spiritual. Thank God for the increased level of coordination of our leaders.
Thank you for your desire to pray for our nation, our leaders and one another during these most challenging days.
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