This is a question that I’m asking myself during this difficult time. I also believe that this question has been asked by many of you at some point during this quarantine. It seems like every day we are being told to isolate ourselves more and more from those around us and it is starting to get really discouraging. Even someone like me, who is extremely introverted, really wants everything to get back to normal. This past weekend when I was alone in my apartment I was getting really discouraged because I felt isolated. I’m starting to understand that life is going to be very far from normal for a while and want to be able to answer this question.
Because of what is going on in the world around us, we are having to take steps to physically isolate ourselves, but this also means we must actively take steps to stay connected with each other. No, I’m not saying for you to defy authority and try to go hang out with all your friends. What I am saying though, is that we each must be reaching out to people around us understanding that everyone is feeling isolated right now. A passage of Scripture that is really helping me right now with all of this is Philippians 2:1-5, and I really want to encourage you to read it this week. No matter how annoyed you might be with your family that you’re stuck inside a house with, many people are feeling discouraged and lonely during this time. People we know can begin to feel less isolated during a time of physical separation when we reach out to them and ask them how they are doing and what we can pray about for them. Just this past weekend I had two different guys from our church send me a text asking how I was doing. Those texts honestly really helped me to still feel connected during this time. So, I want to end this post with a question to help all of us during this time. Who am I going to reach out to this week? I miss all of you and can’t wait for us to be able to all be together again.
-Pastor Eric