Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances. – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a

These are difficult days for sure. We are confined to our homes, told to shelter in place. Our movement is curtailed and our freedoms abridged. We don’t really know what to expect, except that the COVID is bad – worse than any plague we hear. And we know that it hits some folks worse than others.

We are not the first people to endure disease, of course, and the scriptures are full of pain and suffering. We think of the Israelites, and the Palestinians, of the Egyptians and their slaves. But that was thousands of years ago! Well, how about the bubonic plague which spread through Europe in the Middle Ages, when families were decimated and bodies left in the street to rot like rubbish?

In our history books, we read about awful infections that invaded the weakened bodies of wounded soldiers, in war after war. Typhoid caused many more casualties than bullets in the American Civil War. The gravestones at Arlington are pocked by disease.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll explore how the Covid is impacting our lives, and how we might even rejoice and give thanks, in the midst of such a horrific pandemic.

What are you thankful for today? Make a list and offer gratitude to God in prayer for each thing!

Written by: Ken Harding, Member-In-Discernment