CALM – Christ Always Loves Me
"Be careful, keep calm, and don't be afraid.
Do not lose heart."
Isaiah 7:4 (NIV)
Like many of you, Bruce, James Bruce, and I have been social distancing all week, even from our granddaughters who live less than ten minutes away. Poor James Bruce doesn't understand why he can't go to his day program at The ARC. He also doesn't understand why we can't go to Wal-Mart to buy his weekly CD purchase. Changes in structure and routine are hard for most of us, but changes are especially difficult for an adult with autism.
I decided early on in the "shelter in place" process that I can only take so much of the 24/7 news cycle, most of which contains bad news. Bruce decided early on to work in the yard as much as possible, but the rain has prevented a lot of that. And we both have been praying that God would help us steward this awkward, but necessary, social distancing season well. Does anyone doubt that the 2020 "word of the year" will be "social distancing"?
Friday morning, Day #5 of our social distancing, found me literally looking for something to do besides read, study, or even write. I needed to keep my hands busy because I was inwardly churning. I remembered how Mama used to cook her way through anxiety and worry. I also remembered reading an Elisabeth Elliot book years ago in which she recounted the story of a young mother who suddenly became a widow with five children. One of the children recalled how just watching his Mama come home from her husband's funeral, pick up a broom, and begin sweeping her kitchen floor brought such comfort to the young child. Elliot's wise application was that in times of trouble, one should discipline her emotions and do the next thing, whatever the 'next thing' happened to be.
Elisabeth Elliot didn't just write that advice. She lived it. Elliot's own husband Jim and four other young missionaries were murdered by the Auca Indians on an isolated Ecuadorian beach in 1956. Following her husband's death in an effort to bring the Gospel to the Auca Indians, Elisabeth Elliot returned to the jungle with her infant daughter Valerie and lived among the very people who murdered her husband. Her book Shadow of the Almighty tells the remarkable story of Jim Elliot's life and death.
Friday morning found me looking at the dust in my bedroom. I remembered my Granny Muir's annual spring-cleaning each year. Granny temporarily moved mattresses to her back yard for some much needed air and sunshine. I wasn't ready to go that far, but I asked Bruce to help me move furniture in our bedroom so that I could clean baseboards and vacuum under the bed. I put on some Christian music and set about my work. As I cleaned woodwork, I prayed for family members, church members, government leaders, frontline medical providers, and even countries like Italy which have been so impacted by the corona virus. I prayed for the development of a corona vaccine, small business owners affected by the forced closures, and for God to somehow use this suffering for our collective good and for His glory.
After I finished the baseboards, I began cleaning my shutters. After the shutters, I dusted furniture and our ceiling fan. Each time I thought I was through, I realized something else needed my attention. At one point the thought came to me that spring-cleaning is much like the spiritual process of sanctification (progressive holiness). The more sin I confess, the more sin I find that needs to be confessed and cleaned, not up, but out! My Sonos music continued to play, I continued to clean, and I actually found my anxious mind and heart as engaged as my hands. Both my hands and my heart were producing results. Throughout the afternoon as the hours passed, I reflected a lot about my Mama and Daddy, Depression babies who lived through World War II, economic recessions, job layoffs, the Viet Nam war, oil shortages, cancer, and a host of other trials. Honestly I don't remember them ever complaining.
Several hours later I was ready to move our mattress. Bruce fussed a little bit about that, even hinting that it really wasn't necessary, but I insisted. It took both of us to move it. As we did, both of us spotted some prescription eyeglasses that had been missing for over a year! Bruce had replaced them a couple of weeks after he'd lost them, but we were thrilled to finally solve the mystery of the missing glasses. I felt much like the woman in Luke 15 when upon finding her lost coin said, "Rejoice with me!" We not only rejoiced; we laughed!
By the time my spring-cleaning session was done, I not only had a clean room, but a lighter heart as well. All of us have been affected by the corona virus pandemic. The prophet Isaiah's words are as applicable today as they were when they were written 2700 years ago: "Be careful; keep calm; and don't be afraid. Do not lose heart."
If you're looking for something to help you remember to stay calm, just remember Christ Always Loves Me! Indeed He does.