“Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.”  (Romans 12:12)
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     Last week when Governor Roy Copper extended the stay-at-home order, I felt my patience waning.  I am an extrovert so social distancing for a month seemed doable but to extend that month seemed daunting.  I had to have a little talk with myself about the virtue of patience after receiving Governor Cooper’s updated message.  Patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.  Remaining calm even when you have been waiting forever or dealing with something painstakingly slow or teaching someone how to do something and they just don’t get it. Inherent in patience is hope that tomorrow will indeed be different and that God’s timing is always perfect.

     The person in the Bible who epitomizes patience is Hannah.  Hannah’s story is told in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel.  She was living during a difficult time in Israel’s history – there was great division among her people, fighting with foreign nations, lawlessness and people were doing what “was right in their own eyes” without regard for God or other people.  But things were about to change for Hannah and for her people – God was about to do a new thing in her world.  Hannah was happily married, but she was unable to conceive and have children.  It was her practice to go to worship and persevere in prayer, asking God to give to her a child.  A child – new life.  God did hear her prayer and, in God’s time, she did conceive and give birth to a son – Samuel.  Samuel will grow to become the priest (and prophet) who would anoint Saul and David as kings of Israel.  What is significant about Hannah is that she had patience born of hope and she persevered in prayer.  God heard her, and you and me, when we cry to God and God responds to our cries with new life.

     We have a little longer to stay-at-home and practice social distancing.  While we are practicing social distancing, I am renewing my commitment to the practice of patience and prayer, as I envision the new life God is bringing to us.

     ​Years ago, when my sister and I were about 8 and 5 years old (I am the oldest), my father invited us to go overnight camping with him.  He had just purchased a piece of property adjacent to a state park close to Toccoa, Georgia and he would go up there from time to time to check things out.  Our plan was to make a campfire, roast hotdogs and s’mores and then my sister and I would sleep in the back of our family Chrysler station wagon while my father was content to sleep in his sleeping bag out under the stars, returning home the next morning.  My sister and I loved these adventures with my father; my mother was not an outdoor camping kind of person, so she was content to stay home with the dogs for company.  The night was gorgeous, warm and the sky was filled with stars.  We were happily filling our stomachs with hotdogs when my father casually mentioned the fact that bears roamed the woods during the summer months so we needed to be sure to pack our food away when we slept.  Within seconds of my father mentioning bears, my sister and I were in the back of the station wagon and we refused to budge until we were headed home the next morning.  Even when my father enticed us with s’mores, we refused to leave the safety of the back of our station wagon.  Our fear was gripping and paralyzing.                 

​     There is fear swirling around us in the midst of this pandemic. When I go to the grocery store, I see it in people’s faces.  And, I have to admit, I am fearful of what will happen when we can begin to phase back into some routine of public existence.  Fear can be a good thing – it alerts us to possible danger and gives us a chance to prepare.  But often fear can become gripping and paralyzing.  Worry is akin to fear and grows out of fear. Both fester and grow in an environment of uncertainty and change. 

Some thoughts about fear:

Often our adversary is not what we imagine it to be.  Black bears roaming in North Georgia are actually timid and will not attack unless they perceive a threat.  Most times they will not draw near to people unless they are looking for food.  So, a little fear causes us to be smart and take precautions.  Understanding lessens fear.

Dwelling on the past and worrying about the future will only rob you of the present’s joy.  Stacy A. Padula

Of all the liars in the world, sometimes the worst are your own fears.  Rudyard Kipling

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.  Corrie ten Boom 

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.  Swedish proverb.

     When I think about all the biblical characters who confronted their fear and conquered it, David comes to mind.  He was a young boy when he agreed to go out and face the giant Goliath in battle. He stepped onto the battle field alone, with only a sling shot and stones.  “The giant in front of David was never bigger than the God inside of him.”  His faith allowed him to confront a giant of a problem, believing that with God all things are possible.  In the same way, the virus we face today is never bigger than the God who is with us.