Embrace the Rest of 2020
Spring 2020. The season a global pandemic swooped across the earth; stealing lives, interrupting work, compounding fears, halting dreams.
Summer 2020. The world is still in chaos but I am determined not to live out the remainder of this year with complacent, ordinary, fearful days.
The last half of 2020 lies before me. Even though the world is still a mess, I have made a deliberate decision to embrace the rest of this year. I ask myself two questions.
“What is God teaching me?"
"What opportunities is He placing before me to change my world?”
Slow Down
God is teaching me to seek a deeper connection with Him daily. He invites me to slow down, savor moments, and welcome each day with a grateful, expectant heart. Every morning, I ask God to help me to be more fully aware of His presence in a million little ways.
I am learning:
to tune my ear to hear praise in a bird’s song each morning;
to marvel at the fireflies blinking in my backyard every evening;
how to offer a friendly greeting with smiling eyes above my face mask when a stranger crosses my path;
to pause from my work and watch the sky change colors as the sunset drops behind the mountains;
to chase opportunities to bring hope to my community.
Yes. I am constantly learning.
He is teaching me.
God is giving me permission to slow down.
Say “Yes."
During this season, God is teaching me the importance of balancing self-care and caring for others. I am learning to say 'yes' to creative pursuits and 'yes' to service.
In the middle of seemingly disconnected moments…, creating a mosaic, piecing a quilt, going on a walk, making pizza, filling the bird feeders, capturing photographs, playing the guitar, dancing with my daughter, cuddling with my husband, enjoying a video call with my grandchildren, sewing stacks of cloth face masks, distributing bags of groceries to hungry families, taking God’s Word and His love to the rural communities……...in the midst of ordinary and remarkable moments..…..
I find Him.
All the moments I choose to say ‘yes' to His invitation, are moments I connect with God.
Plant More
Earlier in the spring I planted tomatoes, peppers, melons, and sunflowers. Now, in the middle of summer, we are enjoying the harvest.
Each time I pick a ripe tomato or pepper, I marvel at what God can produce in my small backyard with such tiny seeds! This miracle prompts me to be more intentional in sowing gospel seeds!
A time of crisis is the perfect time to actively sow.
I will sow God’s Word in the spirit of blessing, and will reap also in blessing.
The point is this: the person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Corinthians 9:6)
Pray More
God is nudging me to spend more of my time in intercessory prayer. This year I find myself praying more fervently.
I pray for the spiritually lost people in our world.
I pray for restored health of those fighting the virus.
I pray for families grieving the loss of loved ones.
I pray for provision and blessing of our ministry donors.
I pray for family members, who are far away from us geographically, but held and cared for daily by our Heavenly Father.
Although the world situation seems out of control, my faith rests in the truth that God is still near. His invitation to “Cast all your care on Him, because He cares about you” is an invitation to rest. (1 Peter 5:7)
When I enter into prayer, it is a comfort to release all my anxieties over to Him, and I rest in the knowledge that my sovereign God will take care of all that concerns me. (See Psalm 138:8)
Invitation to Embrace the Rest
I invite you to join me during this season to ask yourself the same two questions.
"What is God teaching me?"
"What opportunities is He placing before me to change my world?"
Together, let us decide not to whittle away precious days in momentary, meaningless distractions, but rather focus on each day as a gift—wrapped up in ever-increasing-faith in God.
When New Year's Eve comes around at the end of the year, I refuse to reflect back on 2020 and name it a 'wasted year'.
I want to look back and see that the current crisis moved me to spend my days seeking a deeper connection with my God, and my life was changed.
I want to replay memories of the summer, fall, and winter of 2020 and praise God for the opportunities He set before me to be His ambassador.
Don’t waste your days. Embrace the remainder of 2020. Embrace the rest that Jesus offers.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)