Reconnect With You

                My dear heavenly father, in Your perfect divine wisdom, You have allowed this Coronavirus to spread throughout the world during Lent, a time for self reflection, redirection and reconnection with You. Two thousand years after You walked on the earth to show us how to live, to share a message of hope for eternal life and most importantly, to offer a way to save us all, many of Your people are turning away from You, trying to live on their own and placing You in a checkbox of “unnecessary” or “hobbies.” The pandemic has resulted in the cessation of any public worship of You throughout the world. I can’t help but think it is as if You are saying, “Ok my children, here is what you ask for,” similar to when the people of Israel begged for a king to rule them instead of following You as their king in 1 Samuel 9. You gave the Israelites what they asked for, complete with the misuse of power, money and ill treatment of subjects that a human king brought. Eventually, You sent the one true king, the Messiah, Jesus, and You revealed the beauty of perfect leadership. Your people learned what they needed was You and not their own notions of a kingdom. They learned that Your kingdom was open to all who believe and that all people could become coheirs to that kingdom of heaven. I wonder what Your people will learn today from being denied the opportunity to worship together as one family.

                One thing I notice during this time of sheltering and social distancing is the silence. Without work, entertainment and social activities, it has become very quiet. Even the streets are quiet without the cars going back and forth. I hear the birds, the wind, the animals; all the things You created and I hear much less of the things we have created. The quiet has allowed me to think and to meditate on You. I am also honing my focusing skills which have become very accustomed to distraction and interruption. It is so much easier to sit and allow outside things to guide my mind than to master my mind and lead it to deep thought, contemplation and meditation and most of all, to remain securely connected to You.

                Lord, thank You for revealing the veils I have placed around my soul. Help me to shed those veils and to be the holy soldier who trains constantly to hear You, to feel Your presence, to see You and to always be prepared to do all that You ask, in the way that You ask, for as long as You ask, because You ask it. I place my soul in Your loving arms, I rest my weary head on Your beating heart, and I ask You to fine tune my ears that I may hear Your loving voice. May this time of sheltering be like a desert retreat for all of our souls and may we all take a look at our lives, redirect our focus and reconnect with You.