that your Church may be guided by your eternal design
and not be deprived of your help in this present age.
Psalm 31: 7-8
Susie and Delia are a bit confused about how much company they are receiving the last two weeks. Michael and I are with them twenty-four/seven while we “social distance” with each other and the rest of the world.
Susie and Delia are a bit baffled–this Coronavirus is all a mystery to them. Why they are now sharing what is usually a fairly empty house with two elderly people is quite bewildering!
If they could talk (and I’m sure they do behind our backs), I’d explain that God works in strange and miraculous ways. Even if this present pandemic doesn’t look so miraculous, God is here in the midst of it.
In fact, having those two dear little cats distract me from my worry now and again during the day is “God being here”. Watching Delia chase a rubber band or the two of them become fascinated by our newly arrived, Amazon-delivered cat water fountain was pure grace. A minute or two away from the bad news broadcast from the radio or TV or pinging from the news updates on my iPhone is only God’s joy.
Everyone is a bit baffled. Not solely Susie or Delia. So are Michael and me. The whole world is looking for answers. The whole world is looking for God in some name or another. So people pray–in different languages, from different religions–with the same heart –please, God, “help us in this present age.”
The same words as the Psalmist who scribed these words so many centuries ago. The same Psalmist who reminds me that God has mysteries beyond telling and many things I don’t understand but only loves humankind.
In the midst of this crisis, I am bound to forget that we are soon to celebrate the Eastertide–and the Passion when God so loved the world that we witnessed the death of Christ, the begotten Son. That, too, baffled people.
I baffle Susie and Delia often. They often don’t understand what’s going on. God often baffles me but I trust that all is to the Good, no matter how dire or dark the circumstances appear. It is all to the good and I know I can be as confident as Susie and Delia that God will see the world through this pandemic.
