On Saturday the purple martins returned. We\u2019d been watching\nfor them. I guess they didn\u2019t hear about the virus\u2014or weren\u2019t worried about it.\nOnly one couple has taken up residence. Seeing them perched on the pole and\nexploring the gourd houses brings great delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They remind me to follow their example, relying on our heavenly Father for everything. I can\u2019t see their faces, but I\u2019m sure there are no scowls\u2026no signs of panic. They\u2019re just doing what they were designed to do\u2014trust their Creator for life and breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hyacinths outdid themselves\u2026and the jonquils did, too.\nThe weeping-cherry tree is almost fully in bloom. All nature seems unaware of\nthe chaos enveloping our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If only I had more\ntime,<\/em> we said. If I could just slow\nlife down,<\/em> we said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here we are\u2014much of the world sheltering in place. Time\non our hands. Life as we knew it stalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our fight isn\u2019t just against the \u201cunseen enemy\u201d called coronavirus. We fight another unseen enemy\u2014anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOur fight isn\u2019t just against the \u201cunseen enemy\u201d called coronavirus. We fight another unseen enemy\u2014anxiety. <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n I know of only one remedy for that\u2014God\u2019s Word. My own words remind me of this passage in Matthew 6:25-31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Take no though for your life, what ye shall eat, or what\nye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life\nmore than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for\nthey sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly\nFather feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say\u00a0 unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which\nto day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe\nyou, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we\neat? or, What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or where shall we find toilet paper? (My words!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our concerns are real, our ability to impact them nearly\nzero. Around the globe we see death and heartbreak. In our own communities we\npractice self-isolation and live in dread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We expect normal life to return\u2014as surely as the purple martins made their long journey back to their summer home\u2026as surely as the jonquils and the weeping-cherry tree burst into bloom year after year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet we need comfort while we wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength\u201d (Isaiah 26:3-4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted in him and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth, and with my song will I praise him\u201d (Psalm 28:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long. And the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders\u201d (Deuteronomy 33:12 NIV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou whom I have upheld since you were conceived and have carried since your birth, even to your old age and gray hairs. I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. I will sustain you and I will rescue you\u201d (Isaiah 46:3b-4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Either God keeps his word or he doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBlessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant\u201d (1 Kings 8:56).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Psalms teach that God is my strong habitation, my rock, my fortress, my hope, my trust, my strong refuge. Is he enough?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus finished his comments in Matthew 6 this way: \u201c\u2026your heavenly\nfather knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the\nkingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto\nyou. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take\nthought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof\u201d\n(verses 32-34).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Encouragement for the chaos: I will never be stronger than I am right now because God is my strength, and he won\u2019t be stronger tomorrow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Encouragement for the chaos: I will never be stronger than I am right now because God is my strength, and he won\u2019t be stronger tomorrow! <\/a><\/span>Click To Tweet<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n My words\u2026and you can quote me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please comment about how you are encouraging yourself during these crazy days. And I’d appreciate your sharing this with your friends!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a9 Dianne Barker 2020 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Saturday the purple martins returned. We\u2019d been watching for them. I guess they didn\u2019t hear about the virus\u2014or weren\u2019t worried about it. Only one couple has taken up residence. Seeing them perched on the pole and exploring the gourd houses brings great delight. They remind me to follow their example, relying on our heavenly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[356,504,9,512,438,513,58,514,300],"class_list":["post-1294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-anxiety","tag-coronavirus","tag-dianne-barker","tag-encouragement-for-the-chaos","tag-living-the-maximum-life","tag-matthew-6","tag-peace","tag-purple-martins","tag-strength"],"yoast_head":"\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n