A List of Life-giving Resources Immune to COVID-19

Mental fortitude is essential in these unusual days. Recently, CNN said, “We’re now more than seven months into the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the lives of most of Earth’s inhabitants.” Whoa. Both the domination and duration of this intruder remain staggering.

Shoehorn these realities into homes, routines, relationships, holidays, schedules, finances, calendars, celebrations, plans and dreams, and the aftershocks threaten to push the Geiger counter of our emotions to alarming readings. As you and I dig deeper and deeper into resources we never knew we had, join me to consider:

A List of Life-giving Resources Immune to COVID-19

An afternoon cup of tea to enjoy

A lovely plant to water

A passage of Scripture to absorb

A colorful bouquet of flowers to gaze upon

A good book to read

A favorite song to sing

A breath-taking sunset to admire

A glorious God to praise

Indeed, mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health accompany these meaningful ventures. And, they are 1000 % immune to COVID-19. Hallelujah!

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

What about you? Which simple, personal resource does God use to revitalize you in this demanding pandemic?

Listen to a Waiting Mom

Guest Post by Beth Vincent

I’m a doer. Friends describe me as responsible, capable, and practical. If a task needs to be completed, I’ll find a way to do it. This is a hard season to be a doer when so much of life is out of my control.

It’s been over four months since our schools and workplaces closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. My husband and I continue to work from home, and we have no idea when our workplaces will reopen. We have two school-age kids.

My son’s first grade teacher provided excellent structure and support for the six weeks that we did remote learning in the spring. She went live at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM each day and provided a weekly calendar of tasks to complete. We’re a schedule-oriented family and this structure worked for us.

Remote learning preschool was a little more challenging engagement, but my daughter enjoyed seeing her teacher online each day. Truly, it was a joy to do school with my kids and I enjoyed getting to know their teachers and classmates in a new way. There were a lot of tears and a lot of prayer, but we did it.

Now my doer mind is constantly trying to figure out what this upcoming school year will look like for our family. When school reopens, our son will be entering the second grade and our daughter will be entering kindergarten.

Until then, I’m stuck in the waiting … waiting for our local school to release their reopening plan. There is nothing for me to do right now except wait.

What I am learning during this uncomfortable waiting period is that God wants us to seek Him in the waiting. Every time I feel my mind start to spin with questions, I repeat Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Being still is not easy for me. Stopping my thoughts and making my mind still requires intentional action.

Even though the questions continue to come, God’s Word speaks steady.

When I ask: “What will in-person school be like? Teachers already work so hard, what new protocols are we asking them to add to their day?” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

When I ask: “If full time remote learning turns the best option for our family, how will I be able to continue working? I’m not sure that I can balance both for an extended period of time.” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

When I ask, “How will this school year, whether at home or in-person, affect our kids socially and emotionally?” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

When I ask: “What if there are not enough teachers and staff willing and able to return to school for the fall semester?” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

When I ask: “What toll has this taken on school administrators and staff who have worked long hours all summer to figure out how to do school in unprecedented times?” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

When I ask: “What about the parents that need their kids to go to school full time for their financial stability or their mental health?” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

When I ask: “What about the kids who need to be in school full time because school is their safe place? The place that they get food and support?” He answers, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Do you find yourself asking questions of God? Perhaps, His answer for me offers a comforting answer for you.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Beth and her husband Barry have two energetic children. She serves on the leadership team of MOPS, the Mothers of Preschoolers ministry at Centerville Community Church in Centerville, Ohio, and works part-time for Athletes in Action International as an Administrative Assistant.

Lessons Learned from the Recent Plane Crash

Incredulous! The sight before my eyes defied belief. On this steamy hot Saturday afternoon, I sat under a tree in my neighbor’s front yard and shook my head. People milled around in quiet conversation, but I withdrew into my own world and tried to make sense of the dramatic scene, a scene marked off by that ominous yellow tape and surrounded by a sea of flashing red lights.

A plane just crashed into our neighborhood.

Resting askew on the lawn right across the street, a single engine Cessna with a damaged wing stared back at me. My eyes scanned the site and absorbed the evidence: nasty tire marks, splintered mailboxes, and a twisted lamppost.

Where mothers push strollers, where children ride bikes, where couples take walks—where my husband jogs—a twenty-two-year-old pilot made an emergency landing. And, No. One. Was. Hurt. God be praised!

In a crystal clear sky, on a bright sunny July afternoon, at 5,000 feet aloft, this young aviator’s engine died. Died. Caught alone in the cockpit of a small aircraft, he faced an onslaught of decisions. Undoubtedly, his clear head in an extreme crisis averted a tragedy. The awe-inspiring facts stand out:

He did exactly what he was supposed to do.

His response to the crisis was textbook perfect.

His clear head, hours of training, and eight years of experience paid off.

The ability to think and execute in the heat of trauma is a life skill. Dare you and I ask what we do when our engine dies? Do we give up or panic? Or, like the young pilot, do we engage with the facts, engage with the options, engage with a plan, and land the plane?

Still, I gaze out the window of my study, contemplate the serene setting, and shake my head. All is well, but for God and the skill of this young man, the scene could be drastically different.

The plane crash in my neighborhood sheds light on other aspects of life, and thus leaves me with lessons to ponder:

• Engage with the facts

• Engage with the options

• Engage with a plan, and

• By the grace of Almighty God, land the plane.