Parents, So, it looks like we are going to need a whole lot more… patience, encouragement, positivity, hope… Whatever it was that we thought we were going to need at the beginning of this thing, it looks like we are going to need a whole lot more… with the possible exception of toilet paper and Zoom meetings, we seem to have plenty of those. More people are dying, the usual amount and then more with this nasty virus… More people are losing jobs… way more than usual, like 30 million more. More people have lost their retirement and nest egg in this economic downturn. It would be easy to lose hope. We humans can live without a lot of things, but not hope…. looks like we’re gonna need a whole lot more of that… There was a famous experiment in 1957 in which psychobiologist, Dr. Curt Richter put a rat in a barrel to swim. The rat could not get out of the water, the sides of the barrel were too high, the water was too deep to stand up, and there was no place to rest and stop swimming. The rats tested only swam about 15 minutes before giving up and sinking to the bottom of the barrel… However, if a researcher reached in and rescued the rodent, the next time the rat was tested they could swim 40-60 hours longer… not minutes… hours longer! That's up to two and a half days longer these animals would swim! So, what was the difference? HOPE… these rats were given hope that they would be rescued, that help was on the way, that someone was with them, someone had their back, and they would swim a whole lot longer than anyone ever anticipated.
The apostle Paul knew times would be tough and that humans would need hope and he tells us,”So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (MSG) What is it we need to say to someone else to give them hope during this time, to let them know we are with them, Jesus is with them and they can do this? Some of us are at the end of our 15 minutes and we’re about to give up, others are already sinking to the bottom… your word of encouragement could be just what they need to rescue them and get them swimming again. So, don’t stop encouraging everyone around you, pray for them, keep pointing them toward the Hope of our salvation, Jesus! We're going to need a whole lot more hope...
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!
