Gospel for God’s Children by Linda Shields:
“A Special Spring”
Spring arrives Saturday, March 20th, and what a wonderful and special Spring this one will be. The entire world has spent the whole year in lock down and separation from family members, friends, schoolmates, coworkers, church family, and gatherings. We haven't been able to do common activities like shopping in person, eating out, attending sports events, concerts, and having holiday celebrations together. This separation has taken a toll on our psyche. Many people have suffered from loneliness and depression due to the separation from others.
Last March, a Rabbi remarked that 3000 years ago on Passover the people were instructed to stay in their homes and not go out because there was a plague upon the land. Now, 3000 years later, we were instructed at Passover time to stay in our homes and not go out because there was a plague upon the land.
But this Spring, after a year of suffering with separation, and the deaths of family members , acquaintances and friends, not to be able to socialize, or come gather together, and to just be free to live normal lives without that mask hurting our ears, fogging our glasses, muffling our voices and blocking our breathing, maybe, God willing, we are at a place where we can start to have some kind of normalcy again.
We have all prayed for an end to the plague, we have prayed for those who suffered through the plague and for the families who lost loved ones to the plague. If we learned anything from this year we learned that God is with us in our loneliness, that he will heal and he will comfort us in our loss. We learned to call on him and to bare our souls, be honest with him and to ask forgiveness for our shortcomings. He supplied our needs, he blessed us so we could bless others and help them in this trying time.
God heard our prayers, our requests for forgiveness, and our pleas for help through this plague. Many people have discovered their need for God and have developed a relationship with him. Families have come closer together, and many have gone above and beyond in helping their neighbors in need.
So this Spring we have hope and life, we long to be healed and brought together. We have a whole year to make up for of lost togetherness and freedoms.
We have God to thank for being with us through this difficult time and for his healing grace.
Lamentations 3: 22 - 26, " The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, " The Lord is my inheritance, therefore I will hope in him! The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord."
Dear Lord, thank you for the hope Spring brings. Forgive us, heals us, and brings together again that we may praise you for your wonderful goodness, in Jesus name
God Bless