Dwelling
Who are the people who get you through times like this?
It may be family. Some are blessed to be at home with loved ones and for the most part that may be a positive.
We also know that more Canadians live alone now than ever before. Whether you have a crew of people around you or if you are on your own, there are people who get you through.
Do you watch for the daily briefings of politicians? If so, do they help?
Over the last couple of days I saw Col. Chris Hadfield, a Canadian scientist and astronaut. Remember him? He is the one who did a recording of Space Oddity by David Bowie from the International Space Station.
I think that he is supposed to help get us through this.
“They” are finding people who have lived in isolation for extended periods of time to give pointers and tips.
Hadfield told us that we should “have a mission”. He suggested learning a language or learning to play the guitar.
Are you trying to be productive?
It can help. It can also be too much pressure.
Some days you just need to get through.
I’ve seen the reports as well about parents worried about the education of their children. In most cases these stories feature kids who are 5 or 6 or 8 years old, that range.
Is it okay to ask, are we really worried that a couple of months out of class will impede the development of these kids?
Imagine the pressure that a parent feels. It is already enough to simply try to get through the day. Now, you are supposed to take up a personal mission and become the teacher for your kids.
Just get through.
You’ll find out if you are sinking too much into yourself. Perhaps it might serve well to get up and work on something. It also might be good to stop if you can, to not achieve something.
My advice (you don’t need my advice) would be to notice the slower things.
Sit for a few minutes in the quiet of the morning because you don’t have anywhere to go today after all.
If you are a project and mission person, go for it, but don’t put this onto other people if they need something different to get through.
What does it mean to “Dwell in the house of the Lord”? How can I do it now, in this circumstance?
Psalm 84 English Standard Version (ESV)
My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.84 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise!
Selah5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Dear God;
May I know today, what it means to dwell in your house.
How can I do that now?
I am so restless. I don’t like this forced confinement.
Could it be for me a call to be attentive?
Would you show me how I neglect to dwell in your presence?
So much of our lives can be defined by what we do, where we go, what we accomplish.
Could I see again what it means to be defined by being in your presence?
Here.
Bless all of us in this. As everyday, our prayers go out to those helping, to those on the front lines of this battle.
“Blessed are those who dwell in our house, ever singing your praise.”
Amen
