FAITH IN A TIME OF PANDEMIC – ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE

LIX.
ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE
(5/14)

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…(Psalm 23:6)

I joke that I’m in midlife provided I live to be 135! The brevity of life is more apparent as I push toward seventy. I am healthy and have never been more creative, or happier and fulfilled, but the pandemic has reminded me daily of my mortality, especially since I have a few of the risk factors identified by scientists. I worry about breathing ventilators if somehow I contract the Coronavirus. I suspect some of you do as well, and I have much good work to do as a pastor, writer, teacher, and most of all grandparent of two young boys, not to mention husband, father, and gentle activist.

I don’t believe that the days of my life are fully known or determined in advance, but I have today and that’s why I begin each day with “this is the day that God has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it!” I am glad to be alive, and with each day come divine possibilities personally addressed to me in my place and time – the limits are the source of possibility and sheltering in place, I can still bring beauty to the world, living fuller, loving better, and reaching out to others with love. This day filled with possibility can inspire a call to a representative advocating for earth care or challenging injustice, calling a friend across the country, penning a sermon or article that will change lives, sending an email to warm a heart, and choosing love not fear.

This day and all the days of our lives, God is with us. Wherever we care, God is giving us dreams, visions, and possibilities – awaken to this morning, embrace the hours, seize the day!
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Loving and creative God, let me live lovingly and creatively this day, following your way of love and compassion. Let me seize the day. Amen.