BRIGHTWOOD CHRISTIAN CHURCH
  • Home
  • Connect
  • Beliefs and Connections
  • Online Worship
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Need Help?
  • For Kids
  • Pastor's Devotional Blog

Haunted House

3/26/2020

 
Picture

I am quarantined in a haunted house.  I bet you are, too.  I use bullet journaling to keep myself organized and as I was going through my notes today, I found ghosts there,  ghosts like "Lily's opening night" and "James starts baseball", ghosts like "book study" and "choir practice."  

The life gone missing is tangible sometimes, as well as the fear of what we will miss ahead of us.  Is Easter fading away in front of our eyes?  The echoes of ghastly voices qualify everything now, "IF we go back to school." "IF church camp happens." 

Don't get me wrong.  There is great joy in this time of slowness and solitude. And I have so much for which to be desperately grateful.  Even so, it really is o.k. to mourn our losses, even the ones that are significant only to us.  It is o.k. to mourn normalcy, even if not many of your plans have changed.  It is o.k. to mourn with and for all of those the world has lost.   It is o.k. to mourn our feeling of safety.  

If we don't acknowledge our grief, we cannot get past it to find the joy in our current state of life, nor can we accept the comfort that God longs to give us.  I find comfort in these words from Isaiah:
              "do not fear, for I am with you,
               do not be afraid, for I am your God;
               I will strengthen you, I will help you,
               I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."

                                                                                 Isaiah 41:10
I love the imagery of being held in God's hands, not only for the victory I find there, but for the comfort and peace.

Prayer for the Day: O God of comfort and peace, of strength and victory, heal the world, both from the COVID-19 virus and from all of those differences between us that are highlighted in the midst of crisis.  Bless those who mourn, and help us to be a blessing from each of our sanctuaries.    In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

    Picture

    Author

    Rev. Jana Quisenberry is the minister at Brightwood Christian Church.  She's an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  A graduate of Transylvania University in Lexington, KY and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, IN, She now resides in Mt. Lebanon with her husband, two children, and dog, Sookie.  Pastor Jana loves the church, science fiction, and coffee.

    Affiliate Links
    Please note, links in the blog send you to Amazon, and a portion of the proceeds of the sale go to benefit the ministry of the church.  Pastor Jana only includes those resources that she endorses and that can be of benefit to your faith life. Thank you for your support. 

    Archives

    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016

    Categories

    All
    1 John 4:7-8
    1 Thessalonians 5:18
    Abundance
    Albert Schweitzer
    Art
    Attitude
    Baffled
    Bible
    Cats
    Challenge
    Choice
    CMU
    Code Of Conduct
    Committment
    Communion
    Disciples Of Christ
    Disney
    Donkey
    Dreaming
    Earthquake
    Eeyore
    Ethical Guidelines
    Faith
    Fall
    Family
    Fear
    Fear Is A Liar
    Fearless
    Fruit Of The Spirit
    Future
    Galatians
    Garbage Art
    God
    God's Love
    Gratitude
    Guidance
    Improvement
    Isaiah
    Isaiah 26:3
    Jesus
    Job
    Kahlil Gibran
    Kindness
    Love
    Marriage
    Matthew 6:33
    Maundy Thursday
    Music
    Mystery
    New Year
    Nobel Peace Prize
    Opportunity
    Parched
    Peace
    Philippians
    Possibility
    Prayers
    Provision
    Quote
    Religion
    Risk
    Sabbath
    Sad
    Scarcity
    Ships Don't Sink Because Of The Water Around Them
    Simple Things
    Slowing Down
    Snow
    Springs
    Summer
    Swimming
    Table
    Thankful
    Thanksgiving
    Theodore Roosevelt
    Vacation
    Valentine
    Values
    Warm
    Water
    Wendell Berry
    Winnie The Pooh
    Zach Williams

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from verchmarco
  • Home
  • Connect
  • Beliefs and Connections
  • Online Worship
  • Spiritual Growth
  • Need Help?
  • For Kids
  • Pastor's Devotional Blog