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We’ve seen lots of struggles lately. But also lots of good! Here are some of the good things God is doing in, through and around people during this uncertain time.
I have seen my own family and my neighbors grow closer together in genuine shared concern and protection for each other. It’s like the love we feel for each other has been brought to the surface and magnified by God during this time. No relationship is taken for granted.
It is encouraging to see all the the men and women who have stepped up in our country to help others in this time, sacrificing their own health for the sake of others. It truely shows God’s hand in this situation. May he continue our resolve to help others around us.
In this photo the white building is a hospital in Mobile, AL. The cars with flashing lights are people there to pray for workers and patients in the hospital. It was amazing to see my hometown come together during this time.
It has been so refreshing and uplifting to just have time to sit on my front porch for hours in the evening. Watching families walk by and offer a simple wave or stop on the sidewalk and engage in conversation gives me hope for a new tomorrow. I’ve sat on my front porch on many occasions in the past. People would just keep walking straight ahead and never acknowledge my presence. It also gives me great joy as I go about on my morning and evening walks to leave encouraging sidewalk chalk messages to families. We have a hope and that hope is in our Lord and Savior!
Ben and I were able to bring toilet paper and cookies (what a fun combo) to a local family in need. We kept our social distancing but were still able to have a long conversation in the yard and were all the more blessed by the interaction.
I have been able to contact people through phone calls and have been able to connect with all kinds of people and it has been a blessing! The time and focus with other people have been wonderful. It has been so encouraging to me.
God has been with us, has blessed and kept us. We feel His presence everyday in our lives!
What I’ve seen around me: restaurants donating free food to health care workers, neighbors offer to run errands for at risk neighbors, prayer be invited into lives, community members sew face masks for hospitals in short of supplies, stores see to the needs to senior adults, education companies offer free tools for families, neighborhoods putting up a “FREE” table for other neighbors to share their abundance of essentials (toilet paper, soap, food, etc.), the church enter into people’s homes and make discipleship and learning personal, families spending quality time together, neighbors encouraging neighbors (leaving gifts for sanitation team, chalk messages on sidewalks)
What I’ve seen God do in/through me: make me a better neighbor — I’ve reached out to my neighbors to see if they need anything (one neighbor is a grandmother caring for 3 grandchildren while undergoing cancer treatments; I’ve been texting her and making her a meal). God is also working in me to reach my kids and show them we live in a world that needs Him — we are having good conversations on how we can encourage others with hope while everything feels so gloomy.
My Mother-in-Law moved to our neighborhood from Houston and shares her goodness with us in person.
Carly: been able to do different kinds of school work, time with family
Mary Nell: life has been less chaotic with a slower pace, less stress, everyone seems happier due to slowed pace of life
Allison: able to have more family dinners during this time, able to connect with neighbors during this time, catching up with family members thru texting
Colely: been able to spend more time with family and not chasing sports, able to do projects around the home that make everyone happy, learning more one more that church is not the building but the people in it and finding new ways to connect.
During this difficult time I have had some unexpected health news not related to COVID. My prayer has been that my medical appointments go smoothly and quickly despite the pandemic. Thank the lord my medical team has gone uninterrupted. I pray that he keep my team of doctors healthy for my treatments. The message this morning was on point and that we can rely on what only HE can do!
With life slowing down, I have enjoyed the extra time with my family. There have been many more intentional times of prayer and conversations about God and the Bible with my children. We have been able to do more outdoor and hands on activities together. ❤️ I also work at a local hospital and it has been amazing to see the door open for conversations about God, His plan, His goodness and His peace.
We’ve seen families and communities come together. It is this feeling of love and community that we had after September 11th. For our family, it has forced us (and allowed us) to slow down, really talk and connect, and spend quality time together in a way that we weren’t before. We have also witnessed our neighborhood, community of Leander, our church family, and our school community come together to help and support one another. We don’t look at this as a time of sorrow, but as a blessing to start a new in bigger and better ways and to come out stronger on the other side.
In us: More internal peace, peace of mind.
Through us: Getting to know my neighbors, helping friends who cannot get things on their own.
Around us: We have been so busy in the past that we didn’t get to attend the same service. Now, we spend so much quality time together, eat together and attend the live services together.
