It could be that God orchestrated the events and people in your life in such a way that you’re seeing COVID-19 with a different set of eyes. Maybe you’re equipped to handle the current new normal because of past experiences.

Or maybe this era of pandemic is teaching you and preparing you for a future that only God can see.

Either way you can trust your present and future to the God who sees and knows both.

I can attest that the absolute best way to cope with the grief over a lost pet is to rescue another.

I’ve heard it said that grief is just love with no place to go. When the pet that you loved so much crosses the rainbow bridge, the best place for all that love to go is to a previously unloved dog or cat (or gerbil or hamster or hedgehog or whatever else).

My story is that I went into the animal shelter looking to find a Lucy Jr, but got picked by an unexpected (and polar opposite in many ways) tortie feline.

All I can say is that you will know when you find the right one. More often than not, he or she will be the one to pick you, not the other way around.

Even if you haven’t recently lost a pet, it’s still a good thing to rescue an animal. There’s no more loving and loyal pet than a rescue.

I can’t believe that tomorrow is May 1.

That means that we’re already 1/3 of the way through 2020.

Those living in Nashville might also know that tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary since those 1000 year floods that swept through the city following the historically heavy and non-stop rainfalls we had for 2 days straight.

I did have me some tacos today. At an actual restaurant.

Finally, there’s a light at the end of the self-quarantine tunnel.

First of all, I actually like oatmeal raisin cookies. Especially those fresh out of the oven.

But what gets me is when I go take a bite out of what I honestly and sincerely believe to be a chocolate chip cookie, and there are raisins.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.

It does kind of feel like 2020 has been somewhat of a bait and switch oatmeal raisin for chocolate chip cookie kind of year, don’t you?

At least maybe things are starting to become less surreal and a bit more normal. So far.

That’s the promise. One day you will understand.

The disciples didn’t at first, so they ran and hid. Later, they got it and after that, they were willing to lay down their lives for their Lord.

That part of your life that you don’t understand? One day you will.

One day you will look back at how your life unfolded and confess that God could not have orchestrated it any better.

One day you will see how God took even the worst and darkest moments and turned them into the brightest golden moments.

One day you will understand.

I was listening to a podcast recently when one of the hosts said something that resonated with me. He was speaking about the whole COVID-19 ordeal and he talked about how some have reduced it to blaming it on people they already didn’t like in the first place.

I’m not here to take sides politically. Taking sides and passing blame do nothing to help those who are sick and dying. Name-calling does nothing to boost the morale of a general public who is trying to navigate through fearful and uncertain waters.

Look for the helpers. Look for those who are making a difference. I see health care workers risking their own lives for others. I see delivery workers taking great risks to make sure we have what we need. I see those who are practicing the art of doing those daily little things with great love.

Focus on the positive. Choose to use your words to build others up, not to tear down. Dare to be kind and praise the kindness in others.

Look for the helpers.

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. How does a lamp burn? Through the continuous input of small drops of oil. If the drops of oil run out, the light of the lamp will cease, and the bridegroom will say, ‘I do not know you’ (Matt. 25:12). What are these drops of oil in our lamps? They are the small things of daily life: faithfulness, small words of kindness, a thought for others, our way of being silent, of looking, of speaking, and of acting. These are the true drops of love that keep your religious life burning like a living flame” (Mother Teresa).

These words — like so many that I have read lately– seem so spot on for the current state of affairs.

We can’t gather together to worship or do mighty acts of service. Most of us are limited by the safer at home regulations. It seems like there’s so little we can do.

But it is those little acts of kindness that add up. That smile you give to a stranger to validate that you see him or her. Telling the cashier to have a good day after checking out. Sending that text of affirmation to a friend who might be feeling isolated and alone.

There are always so many little way we can show love during these unprecedented and unusual times. Make it your prayer for God to show you how you can be Jesus in a small way to someone in the days to come.

I stole this from a friend’s Facebook post. Actually, I stole it from a friend of a friend who posted it on my friend’s Facebook post.

It’s from the devotional book Jesus calling by Sarah Young, and the words are incredibly relevant for this current age of pandemic panic:

“REST IN THE STILLNESS of My Presence while I prepare you for this day. Let the radiance of My Glory shine upon you, as you wait on Me in confident trust. Be still and know that I am God. There is both a passive and an active side to trusting Me. As you rest in My Presence, focusing on Me, I quietly build bonds of trust between us. When you respond to the circumstances of your life with affirmation of trust, you actively participate in this process.

I am always with you, so you have no reason to be afraid. Your fear often manifests itself in excessive planning. Your mind is so accustomed to this pattern of thinking that you are only now becoming aware of how pervasive it is and how much it hinders your intimacy with Me. Repent of this tendency and resist it, whenever you realize you are wandering down this path. Return to My Presence, which always awaits you in the present moment. I accept you back with no condemnation.

Psalm 46:10; Romans 8:1″

You don’t really have to be a Stephen King fan or even know much of anything about his books to appreciate this one. Clowns are just that scary.

It’s interesting how so many of the Psalms seem to have been written for times like these. Even though COVID-19 and coronavirus most likely didn’t exist back in ancient times, the words of the psalmist are always applicable to any time of crisis or pandemic. Funny how God’s word is living and active that way.

This particular Psalm speaks to God’s tender lovingcare– His hesed– over His own:

“I look up at the vast size of the mountains—
    from where will my help come in times of trouble?
The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains
    will send the help I need.

He holds you firmly in place;
He will not let you fall.
    He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep.
What a relief! The One who watches over Israel
    never leaves for rest or sleep.

The Eternal keeps you safe,
    so close to Him that His shadow is a cooling shade to you.
Neither bright light of sun
    nor dim light of moon will harm you.

The Eternal will keep you safe
    from all of life’s evils,
 From your first breath to the last breath you breathe,
    from this day and forever” (Psalm 121, The Voice).