I have titled this entry “babbling.” The reason is that I have a lot of thoughts bouncing around in my head and wanted to get some of them out to the blog. Helps me clear my head a bit and I might come back and re-visit some of this in a more coherent way.

So here I sit at my desk and it is June 26, 2020 and it feels as if we have been living inside some bizarre movie script. 2020 has presented itself to be a year of challenge, confusion, frustration and more.

The above graphic I found on facebook today and thought it represents many of us fairly well. We many not be agreement with all that is shared here, but I am positive that if you put yourself in the center of this you will find yourself in agreement with some. Me? Well I am not going to share which I agree with or not – other than being tired, frustrated and prayerful. Let’s take a look at 2020 so far to see why I agree with those 3 words.

• Early January we first begin to hear about this virus (covid-19) that is overseas.

• Mid January the United States has first confirmed case of covid-19.

• End of February the Stock Market begins to take huge decline.

• By mid March World Health Organization declares Europe as pandemic epicenter for this virus outbreak.

• By end of March and into April United States closing down schools, businesses, issuing stay at home orders, etc.

• Churches are closed and Easter just goes by quietly

• May comes along and still much of the United States is on lockdown and Mother’s Day goes by quietly.

• The end of May an African-American man is a victim of police brutality in Minnesota. The man dies and the country erupts with protests and riots. Each day the tensions grow, cities experience riots, violence, looting and fires.

• Not to mention that during all of this (April through current) families have lost loved ones and could not have the “normal” funerals, celebrations of life, etc. due to covid-19. Plus people lost have lots of money in the market, not to mention many more have lost their jobs due to this horrific virus closing businesses.

Each day the tensions grow…wear a mask, don’t wear one. Go out, don’t go out. The media is “reporting” the news, but sadly there are so many viewpoints to all of these events that is hard to even determine who is reporting reality vs. fiction for ratings. Suicide rates have been on the rise by over 35% since 2008 and these past few months are pushing people to their limits.

As you now can see, placing yourself in the middle of that above picture – puts you directly in the middle of chaos, peace, justice, failure and more. Which is why I find these 3 words so agreeable: tired, frustrated and prayerful. At times I am pretty sure that all 3 of them exist at once as well. Between carrying the burden of leadership over a church that has not been meeting, people wanting to connect, family members sick, friends losing jobs, ministry changes, money lost in stock market, losing a pet and the list could keep going and going. 2020 has not been very kind!

BUT – being prayerful has found its place too. Praying for all those in church. Praying for family members health and hosptial stays – all have returned home and are doing well. My mom had covid-19 and it was not a pleasant experience for her, but she is healthy now! Each day has been a challenge, but prayer has kept me within the “normal” range of life.Whatever normal means!

2020 still keeps rolling too. We are nearing peak hurricane season, the protests and riots continue, covid-19 continues, there is an actual Sahara desert dust cloud hitting the U.S. and who really knows what is next!

We will continue living out this real life movie script of sorts, praying that these things will slow down, if not stop and will allow us to catch our breath and enjoy something of 2020, but until then – each day the tensions grow..

Why?

This world is broken and is full of broken people. People are looking for answers, they are seeking truth, they are seeking fairness. They are tired of being treated poorly, lied to and not be recognized for their contributions to man. The reality is that many parts of the world and this great country are void of knowing who Jesus really is and how He can complete your search, well at least set you on a better search for an amazing path for your life, instead of following man and the world.

Think about this: There are over 100 verses in the bible dealing with brokenness. Obviously there are answers for our brokenness, but what will we do? Remain broken or choose to do something proactive, learn about what Christ has for our lives and move forward through all of the chaos? Choose wisely…

Thanks for stopping by the fire!

Pastor Dennis

A seed has to crack and break to grow.