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We each have our own Cross to Bear

Stacey Mell, EdS
Recently, I was made aware of statements made that someone wanted to end things, this individual wanted this life to be over. As a counselor for twenty-eight years, words like that can be haunting, unsettling, and just downright scary. However, I learned over the years to not jump to conclusions; sometimes things are not always as they seem. As I was able to talk with this person, I realized rather quickly that there was absolutely no intention to harm themselves. This individual wanted the quarantine life to end and wanted to go back to the way things used to be;  wanted the life of social distancing, not being able to go to school or work, not able to play with their friends, not being able to go to a baseball game or the movies to be over! Does anyone else feel the same way? I, for one, certainly do. I want it to end, too.

As that event occurred during Holy Week leading us into Easter weekend, I wondered how Jesus felt. Right now most of us are wishing this virus had never happened, that this event could just go away. I wondered how Jesus felt as he was being made to carry a cross, being spit on, being made fun of, denied by his closest friends. How did he feel? What a burden, what a cross to bear. And yet, he stuck with the plan. He knew what was going to happen to him; he knew and yet he kept the faith. He obeyed his father’s every command. Do you think he wished this had never happened? Couldn’t we go back to the way things were? If you are a Christian, then one is certainly glad that he did not go back or skip this part. Jesus died for our sins; he died so that we could live. Living through the difficult times is part of life; our Savior experienced this first hand. 

Our current situation is hard; it is scary; it is unknown. One thing for sure is that we are not alone. Our Lord Jesus is with us each day, every day. Faith is the fundamental component that will allow us to come through this pandemic. I have a classmate that I graduated with from Calvary 38 years ago. He is a funny, well-liked, successful person that contracted COVID-19. Once admitted to the ICU in Atlanta, he was on a ventilator, medically sedated, and received the malaria medication. One of our classmates posted daily updates to our Calvary alumni page. Forty to fifty graduates have been praying for him daily. One day our former counselor organized a coordinated prayer, and we all prayed at 12:00 for God’s healing. Just this weekend we received great news. After 13 days, he was successfully taken off the ventilator and is expected to fully recover. That is a miracle, a modern day miracle. But it is not the only one; I am sure there are hundreds of stories like this one. 

Let’s keep our faith and remember our Lord has a plan, a perfect plan, one for you to prosper, and he plans to do no harm to any of us. He gave His life for us so that we could be free, to live by his example and tell others His good news, even during a pandemic. Remember, things are not always as they seem; silver linings may sometimes be hard to find, but I encourage each of us to dig a little deeper, think a little harder, and He just might deliver another miracle right before our very eyes.
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