We’ve been through and/or are still going through…

The pandemic. (We thought Covid was done. It’s back again. It never left. Ugh.)
Politically divided. Red v. Blue.
Congressional hearings.
War in Ukraine. 
Roe vs Wade.
Uvalde.
Gas is $5 a gallon.
Flight Cancellations.
401K? What 401K?
First no toilet paper. Then no building supplies. No semi-conductor chips. No baby formula. No peanut butter. 
The cherry on top: A recession. Excuse me, soon-to-be-declared, recession. 

What is the next shoe to drop?
When will it end?
Will the 2020’s be known as “the lost years”?

All of the above have made people different from just five years ago. They are…

• More nervous about the future (too many variables have made predictions less predictable)
• More numb to gun violence. (with each mass shooting comes an increased numbness).
• More aware of our friend’s lives, but less connected to them (thank you, social media).
• More likely to have moved to a fringe in ideology. (people live in a vacuum).
• More apt to have a short fuse. (Less face to face interaction has deteriorated our interpersonal skills).
• More aware of personal space (close talkers, coughers and sneezers, please, keep your distance).
• More excuses to miss church. (Coffee. PJs. Sofa. On-line church? Oh yeah, I’m staying in today).

• Less people in the pews (see above)
• Less answers from experts (they don’t know how to handle today’s issues either)
• Less resources. (Gas. Five. Bucks.)
• Less kindness. 
• Less Patience. Who am I kidding? 
• Less all the fruit of the spirit.

While todays issues are new to us, each age has faced its challenges. 

• The 60’s didn’t have phones or cameras in pockets, but there was societal unrest and the Vietnam War.
• The 40’s didn’t have TVs, but WWII still was raging
• The 30’s didn’t have indoor plumbing in many areas, and The Great Depression.
• The 1860’s didn’t have electricity or motorized vehicles, but had the Civil War.

All those times were divisive and difficult without the resources and conveniences of today, and the people survived. Some even thrived. The Church marched on. We will too. 

The One Constant throughout: Jesus is Lord. And because of that fact…

Be encouraged.

Be faithful.

Be strong.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10