August 13, 2020

Last week the anxiety hit us.

We had been doing fairly well at our house. After the initial craziness of the spring, summer was going fine - Not extraordinary, but fine. But last week it hit us as we started to get ready for school. The emails and calls and documents and devices and things we had to figure out, and sometimes people knew the answers but most of the time no one did. Realizing how much we were going to have to keep track of here at home, how many moving parts and scheduling and school details, along with work and life, and do we have enough internet bandwidth? So many things both small and large, it was overwhelming.

Maybe the details were similar for you, or maybe they were different, but I suspect you’ve had a moment like that recently when it all seemed like too much.

The reality of this time is settling in, and it is going to be a long fall and winter, and we must do our best to take care of ourselves and each other. So I implore you, take a little more time. Move a little more slowly. Be as kind as you can to those around you. Pray for everyone you see and for our world.

On Sunday at worship, we will bless our backpacks and devices and all of us as we prepare for a new school year to begin. I don’t know about you, but I’ll surely need it. Marietta is sending cards to families with younger children with cards that say, “Peace be upon you.” We will need that prayer and to be reminded of it often in the coming days. But we can do this. Our God is faithful, and our community is strong. Let’s begin - even in our anxiety - with courage and resolve.

Peace be upon you all,
Chris