Two Years Later
Two years have now gone by since we first started dealing with the pandemic. This is a good time to reflect on what we've been through. We have all lost something in the past 2 years: Graduations, weddings, vacations, time with friends and family, and most tragically, loved ones. That's just scratching the surface of what we lost. We also lost a sense of health and well-being. We lost a sense of safety. As a result, most of us have been bouncing around between the 6 stages of grief: 1. Denial and isolation; 2. Anger; 3. Bargaining; 4. Depression; 5. Acceptance and 6: Meaning. And wherever you are in the grief stages, I hope you can recognize something else that has developed in you over the past two years--a deeper desire for a connection with God. Psalms 42:1-5 puts it beautifully:
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
under the protection of the Mighty One
with shouts of joy and praise
among the festive throng.
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God."
If we look for the meaning this time has had for our lives, we may find a deeper spiritual connection with God. We may begin to experience the peace that passes understanding. We may sense that God is bigger than our current problems. All of this helps us to live our lives with more spiritual intention and a greater focus on God's presence. I'm hoping to continue to use this time personally to deepen my connection with God so I will have more grace and goodness to share with others moving forward. I invite you to join me on this journey of faith. I invite you to find meaning in the discomfort, while you also experience the other stages of grief.
As you look back on all that you have been through, you may realize why you feel so tired. You've been through a lot! But you may also see that God has been by your side the entire time. You may see that God has filled your heart with peace even in the midst of pain. It is my prayer that you will be able to accept what you've been through. And more than that, I pray that you will find a deeper meaning to your life as well. As the grieving process continues, we can still reach out for comfort. When we thirst for God, we are promised that our thirst will be quenched with Living Water.
May you put your hope in God this week and praise him, your Savior and your God.