"Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you." Isaiah 45:10 (NIV)
Dear <<First Name>>,
I never imagined that my first letter to you as Executive Director would come in the middle of a worldwide pandemic. Perhaps you've had to adjust to kids out of school, restricted access to loved ones, or an uncertain paycheck. Some of you are trying to care for the congregants in your church plant, where there's already so much ambiguity. Empty streets (and empty store shelves) are visual reminders of the panic many of us feel. It's disorienting. Unsettling. Surreal. This is like nothing we've ever experienced before.
How do we keep our gospel footing when our foundations have been shaken?
In this season, I find myself revisiting a Parakaleo tool that grounds my heart. "The Omnis" refers to three of God's incommunicable attributes (qualities that belong to Him alone). Only God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.
Remembering this invites me to embrace my human limitations. It encourages me to:
Be dependent, because only God is all powerful. I can't make it all better.
Be local, because only God is ever present. I can sacrificially serve my neighbors here, and trust that He is present with my parents up North.
Be humble, because only God knows it all. I can educate myself about coronavirus but also rest in the One who knows our form.
Resting in God's care doesn't mean that we deny the potential dangers ahead. Rather, it gives us the courage to face them.
As a staff, we're taking steps to be as prepared as we can. We've cancelled our upcoming in-person training events and are pivoting to online offerings and leader support. We praise God that our Program Team recently implemented new technology to do this.
Let's remember our gospel footing together. Please join me and co-founders Shari Thomas and Tami Resch for a special Facebook Live event on Thursday, March 26 at 8:00pm ET.
We'll talk about the Parakaleo tools and gospel truths that have been meaningful to us during this time. And why not reach out to a loved one and encourage them to tune in, too? We hope to see you there.
