Purpose in a Pandemic

“There is a season (a time appointed) for everything and a time for every delight and even or purpose under heaven…

A time to be born and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw away stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to keep silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

…He has made everything beautiful in its time…I have seen that there is nothing better than that a man should be happy in his own works and activities, for that is his portion (share).”

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; 11; 22

This scripture came to mind during the last (almost) 2 months of quarantine. It feels a lot longer than that, especially for those of us who are extroverts and crave friendship, girl’s nights, and get togethers. 

No one in this current generation or even in their parents’ generation has ever experienced anything like this before. The closest thing I could think of would have been the fear of our men overseas fighting in World War II and certain items being on ration. We aren’t fighting anything we can see, and we aren’t necessarily being rationed (although score gold stars for you if you can find cleaning supplies and toilet paper on the shelf right now). But, it is still a situation that incites fear, worry, anxiety, and stress unlike many of us have ever experienced. Despite the news and media telling us how we are living in trying, unprecedented, and unsure times, we can be sure of one thing, God is up to something.

Do I believe that God orchestrated this to teach us all a lesson? No, I am not going there either. As much as there is a good and heavenly Father looking down on us, there is also real evil in this world and because of that fact alone, we live in a fallen world and bad stuff happens. Yes, sometimes bad things happen to good people. I am not going to get all into theology and answering life’s questions as to why. But, I also can’t help but pause and think that even though we are in the middle of a pandemic we can find purpose here. 

If we want to sit here and dwell on the negative, we can certainly find it. But, if we want to dwell on the positive and uplifting and ask God to reveal to us something he wants us to see and learn from all this, he will. 

For example, I am a busy body. I am usually always doing something. I like to have something planned or a something to accomplish. Well, since that is all out the window, God is teaching me to enjoy the unplanned, the laidback, and mundane days that are seeming to all roll into each other. I can find contentment in being busy and I can find contentment in having nothing to do. 

Another area this is teaching me is to be a good steward of everything God has given me. How am I spending my time and who am I spending it with? (Let’s get real, when my Apple screen time showed me that I went from 2 hours a day on my phone to 6, I felt some conviction). How am I spending my money and am I saving any (for situations like these if I had lost my job, what would that look like)? How am I raising my children and am I imparting to them the basic spiritual principles I want them to grow up on (or have I given way too much of that responsibility to our church)? How am I stewarding my health? Have I ever paid attention before to how much sleep I get on a regular basis? What about exercise and eating right? Am I filling up on junk and expecting a 6 pack by summer? (Hmmm, maybe I need to tweak my habits).

 Listen many of us may have a lot more time on our hands than we know what to do with and although I don’t want to pressure anyone to do get up and do something they are uncomfortable with because our mental, social, emotional health are a bit fragile right now. The last thing we need in a crisis is pressure. What we need, instead, is purpose! 

So where do you even begin? With whatever the next right thing is for you. Maybe it starts with journaling where you are and where you want to be. Maybe it starts with creating a vision board and a plan of action for where you are right now in some of those areas of your life and thinking through the next practical steps to where you would like to be. 

Maybe you want to save more money for when the next crisis hits so you won’t be in such a state of despair- start with something small like an automatic draft of $25 a month into a savings account and build on that when you can. 

Maybe you want to start reading your Bible more or reading it with your kids. Instead of feeling the pressure to do it every day, start with once a week- maybe a Sunday evening before your week begins. Perhaps reading a scripture and asking the members of your family what they want to pray about is a good start. 

Perhaps you want to begin exercising or eating right. Start small- walk around your neighborhood or on the treadmill 10-15 minutes a day and build from there. Look up healthy recipes online and write down the ingredient list so the next time you go to the store you’ll have everything you need to make it. 

I could go on and on, but your purpose is to take care of you so that you can then fulfill the God-given purpose God created you to fill. That looks different for every single one of us. If you feel a tug to do something do the next small step that will get you there. 

A friend recently texted me “through the pressure and through waiting, that, my friend, is how diamonds are created.” This pressure, this pandemic that we are going through right now is going to make us stronger, braver, and refine our beauty like nothing else. It is during the most difficult moments of my life that I felt drawn to God’s presence and got to know him the most than in the most prosperous times. This pandemic has not drowned out your purpose. In fact, it is in the middle of all this that God is wanting to work in you to reveal what has been hidden in the dark, remove what needs to be removed, and place in you the strength, resolve, tenacity, and resiliency to be able to fulfill the purposes placed on this Earth only you can fill. 

“…He has also placed eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God] -yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

Your People, My People

"But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. 

Where you go I will go, where you stay I will stay. 

Your people will be my people and your God my God..." 

Ruth 1: 16

There is a picture that hangs on our "gallery wall" as I call it. It is a wall filled with family pictures and signs with scripture and quotes and this one in particular quotes the famous words of Ruth from the Bible when she says to Naomi, "Where you go, I will go, where you stay I will stay." I had to have it when I saw it at the store because I quoted these same words to my husband about a year ago and they were a pivotal moment in our marriage.

You see we were about 8 months into settling into our new home in North Carolina and making friends after being relocated there, but we got word after the company buyout that we may be uprooted and asked to move again. At first I was livid! I was not having it and there was no way I was going to move my family across the country again and I didn't even want to think about it. I let my husband know that if another relocation was in the works he could go without me and I was going to go back to Dallas and be with my family. 

But on my way to church that Wednesday night, God pricked my heart and showed me that I had spoken words of separation over our family and He certainly did not want those words to take root and cause a rift between me and my husband. My dad called me that evening on the phone and after venting to him about us possibly moving again, he said words I didn't expect him to say, "It is much more important for you to be there for your husband, than for your family to be there for you." I stopped in my tracks and thought about how terrible I was being. This move would bring opportunity, growth and financial blessing to our family but I was blindsided by the inconvenience it would cause our family to make new friends, find a new church and have our children adjust to being in new schools. Now don't get me wrong those are all big things to consider, but I knew that the same kindness shown to us by our new friends in North Carolina would be shown to us in Kentucky if God was with us. 

So here I am 8 months into settling into our new home outside of Louisville, Kentucky and my kids having finished another year in another new school and we are yet again new in another church finding where we fit. 

I am so glad I clung to those words Ruth spoke to Naomi and I noticed something. It's not the going or the staying that is hard, it's actually what comes after that, "...your people will be my people..."

Making my fellow Kentuckians my friends is what's daunting, intimidating, uncomfortable and takes me out of my comfort zone. Both I and my children wish we had the same strong friendships we left behind in Texas, but it took years for us to make those friendships and forge the strong bond we left behind. It will take years for us to make those best friendships and people you can call at any time of day and say "Hey I am coming over!" here too. But in the process of making these people, my people, I see God's hand in it all. 

He brought us to a neighborhood overflowing with kids so there is no lack of finding someone for my kids to play with. He has brought together an incredible group of women who meet once a month at my house for book club  and prayer. He placed me in a job working at one of my boy's schools so I am able to keep their same schedule, make a little money and get out of the house! 

He is with us, Emmanuel! 

God was with us in Texas, North Carolina and now here in Kentucky. Day by day, week by week and month by month he is showing us that His hand has been in it all- comforting, providing, directing, and loving. 

So maybe you are in the same place I am in -making the people around you, your people. Or maybe your feet are frozen in place and He is asking you to go, perhaps He is asking you to stay. I want you to take comfort in the fact that the same all-knowing, omni present, ever-providing God that I serve is the same one that can come through for you and your situation. My God is your God. He can do the same miracles, restorations, and redemptions in your story as I see Him doing in mine. 

I know that nothing that comes mine or my family's way has not first passed through His hand and He is going to either bring me through it or deliver me from it. Either way, growth, strength and courage await me on the other side. 

Ruth had no idea what awaited her when she ventured out with Naomi. But when she met her Boaz, her kinsman redeemer, all that she had lost and more had been restored and her life became full. 

I sometimes think that the difficult, uncomfortable and stretching times are now necessary for us as believers to scrape off the rough edges and buff out the marred places in our lives. The joy that comes in the morning is always well worth the pain in the night. 

Re-routing (When God Takes You On A Detour)

 
Traveling to visit my mom in far northeastern Arkansas from the Dallas, Texas area several years ago, me and my husband, along with my oldest son and my brother made the long trek to visit my mom for Thanksgiving. 

During that 8 hour trip, the GPS on the phone would say "Re-routing..." when there was traffic up ahead or a faster detour we could take. My brother would look down at his phone and say "Aaah, Rita, she's done it again!" 

"Rita?" I asked quizzically, "Who are you talking to?"

"My phone" my brother replied, "She re-routes so much I nicknamed her Rita Re-route."

So for the remainder of the trip and pretty much the rest of my life since then, I never looked at my phone the same way again, Rita Re-route always popped into my head when a re-route was necessary on our travels.  

How many times I have listened to Rita Re-route willingly, and sometimes, not so willingly in my journey through life. Changing majors in college, switching professions (from aspiring Christian artist/preschool teacher turned stay at home mom/published author), relocating for my husband's job that has recently brought us across the country twice... all these things have definitely thrown kinks into my plans and at times, made me feel the rug was pulled out from underneath me. 

But I can look back at all the re-routes in my life and see that the whole time, God was in control of mine and my family's ultimate destination. How we got there depended on whether or not we listened to take the faster detours or not.

That's why I love God's gift of free will. We can choose to listen to the Rita Re-routes in our minds or continue on our chosen path. But when we keep God first in our lives we will ultimately end up where we are suppose to be. 

About a year ago I looked at my husband after we were settling into our new home in North Carolina and through homesick tears for Texas asked, "Is this where we will grow old? Or do you think well find our way back?"

He looked up, sighed heavily and replied, "I think we'll end up where God ultimately wants us to be."  

I was not satisfied with that answer, I wanted to know and know now! I bent down on my knees asking God to answer this question for me, but all I ever got was silence. So I settled in my soul that I didn't need to know the answer, I just needed to bloom where God had currently planted me. So I did my very best with what I could with the time and talents I was given. I wrote, filmed and edited a bible study to go along with my first book, filmed a radio interview, hosted a book signing at a local coffee shop and got involved in a local church we started attending. But then I could feel a stirring in my soul, that we were about to get re-routed once again. 

When my husband got the offer to relocate to Kentucky, we had the choice to accept and believe this was from God and provide us another opportunity to grow and flourish elsewhere or stay and see if maybe God was not quite finished with us here. When both my husband and I felt the release to move on and go with God, knowing He would provide for us there as much as He had here, we graciously accepted the detour. 

As cliche as it sounds the quote that says "I don't know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future" is my life's motto right now. I may not know what church we will attend or how my kids will like the schools or when well make new friends in Kentucky, but I do know that God is the center of this family and this home. 

Sometimes God re-routes our lives to get us back on track, perhaps we've detoured far off the path that will be good for us.  Sometimes He offers safer detours because there might be a dangerous path up ahead that can be avoided, and sometimes He re-routes us to grow us into the people He created us to be. That re-route might be what builds strength, character, hope or perseverance like it says in Romans 5:3-5 (NLT):

 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Your re-route might not be a physical move like ours has been, but it may look like a cancer diagnosis or perhaps you got laid off from your job.  Maybe your re-route is deciding whether or not to go back to school or get involved in that ministry opportunity at church. Perhaps your life is at one of those crossroads where your youngest started kindergarten this year and you feel the stirring to go back to work. Maybe all of your children have left home and you find yourself an empty-nester and that nudging to finish writing that book or maybe even to start your own business is constantly on your mind. 

Life offers us many re-routes and a lot of detours. But we can trust we are on the right path when we consult with the ultimate navigator- Jesus!