“This Too Shall Pass”                     “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5

Alex Banayan, who was interviewing Maya Angelou, was instructed to write the following sentence down, “Every storm runs out of rain.”

Every storm runs out of rain.  We sometimes say it differently “This too shall pass.”

I have been through some terribly frightening storms over my years.

Growing up in Maine we survived hurricanes, ice storms that knocked out our power for almost a month, and blizzards that snowed us in for weeks.

You know what though, looking back, the storm always ran out of rain, snow, wind, or lightening.

We are currently in the middle of a storm.  Most of our community is wrestling with a financial uncertainty coupled with the anxiety and concern of our safety and the safety of our most vulnerable.

Toilet paper, soap, and hand sanitizer was sold out and continues to sell out faster than those that need it can get access to it.  As of writing this, Amazon has suspended all orders except the medically necessary ones.  Remember that little green guy Yoda from Star Wars?  He reminded us “"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." 

We mustn’t give in to our fears and yet we must be reminded that every storm runs out of rain.

Trusting in God is much easier before the storm and after the storm but very difficult to do when the storm rages all around us.

Jesus slept on the boat while his disciples panicked.  They woke him up from what must have been a long overdue and much needed rest and he of course calmed the storm.  Jesus has the ability to do that kind of storm calming in our lives as well.

We will overcome this crisis.

We will overcome this crisis by caring deeply for each other.  Caring enough for each other not to infect one another.  Caring enough for one another to ensure we all have what we need, not just for ourselves.  Hoarding and taking from the most vulnerable is a fear based beginning and ends in only one place: suffering.

I am praying for each of you all this week as we do community a little different, learn to be a family a little bit differently, and learn to be a church quite a bit differently.  I don’t remember seeing a class offered in Seminary called Pastoring through Pandemics.  We are all figuring this out together.

I will say this: change is hard and while this is only temporary, it is still change.  Be sure to reach out to your friends and family and let them know you are ok and check in on them to see if they are ok.  Maya Angelou is right though; eventually the storm will run out of water.

May it be so,

Rev. Lou Ward