ROOTED RENEGADE

Leaving Wal-Mart for the second time this week and all I see is fear, paranoia, lack of empathy, loneliness, and the weight of the world on every shoulder I try my best to follow the social distancing guidelines to stay away from. Funny, the first time I went for work for paint. This time I went for food and admittedly paint supplies. Yes, chastise me because I need some serious self care right now. It’s okay I have thick enough skin to take it.

If it is one thing I have learned over the last couple of months is this one very clear and transparent facts from a woman I minister to every day: you have to develop thick skin, even if you don’t know how, feel like, are sensitive, or even know you need it. You can be an empathic being in a world full of hateful people, but you better have some thick skin, because like she told me the other day, “I take my junk out on you because I know you can handle it!”.

Saying all that, some of our “thick skins” are beginning to diminish. They are fading a little. The anxiety and stress of the constant changing news, the increasing numbers of death looming over our heads, and businesses shutting left and right don’t help our strength or fragility. Unfortunately, it weakens our defenses, no matter how good of a Bible totin’, Holy Spirit filled prayer warrior, we profess to be. We are human beings with feelings and the weight of our global crisis is affecting each one of us differently. But not everyone sees it that way.

There is a tender population screaming for rescue. Screaming from the depths of their souls for the emotional triggers to stop. Screaming for someone to make it all make sense to them, because change is hard enough, much less a global pandemic that changes daily. There are elderly people who need relationship who are being told to stay away from people, their wisdom being sheltered from being passed on to the next generation. Young children are being refused service because they carry germs faster than others so they are becoming the generation that is becoming more pushed to the background than they were before. People are screaming everywhere….but no sound comes out.

Gripped by fear.

What is it going to take for people to look around and see this is bigger than a virus sweeping the globe?

Gripped by fear.

Where is the trust in the Almighty Yahweh?

The Bible has 365 versus that say “Do not fear” or “Do not be afraid”…yet we are gripped by fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 “for God has given us a Spirit not of fear but of power, love, and self control.”