Friday, April 3, 2020

Parents, Hang In There Like A Hair In A Biscuit: Words from COVID 19 quarantine

Parents, “hang in there like a hair in a biscuit.” I never really understood this expression until… I found a hair in my biscuit and tried to pull it out. It did not move, the biscuit ingredients seemed to be fused together with the hair. While this expression usually activates my gag reflex, the illustration is unforgettable when describing faithful perseverance under trial, great endurance, or, in the words of the King James Bible, longsuffering.
As this pandemic continues to change life as we know it, we are going to have to hang in there like a hair in a biscuit. But we can do it… because God is with us. Moses tells God’s people in Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.". And just two verses later he says, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
We will need to keep loving our family and friends well… keep loving God well and keep trusting him to see us and our loved ones through this time of trial. We will need to be praying for those who are sick and grieving and those who are hurting financially. We will need to keep acting like God’s children act and treating each other well. We will need to give lots of hugs (make these virtual if you are not quarantined together) and give love and encouragement to all those around us. And this is really hard, but we need to stay home well if we don’t have to work outside our home. Those who do have to work outside your home, may God bless you, keep on being a light to those around you.
I am praying for you the prayer the apostle Paul prayed for some of his favorite people… “We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, so that you may have great endurance and patience, joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the saints' inheritance in the light. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:9b-14 (CSBBible)
Hang in there people (like a hair in a biscuit)! God is with us! I’m praying for you!