Too Many Adjustments For This Old Gal

Okay, so Blogger is playing games with us and wants to change the way we do things here. I am trying it to see how it works so I will know how to complain...or adjust as necessary. I guess that is what is happening in all of life these days...we have the choice to complain, or adjust as necessary. I might as well warn you...I am struggling with the thoughts of all the "adjusts as necessary" we are having to make to adapt to the way things are right now.  

Probably my biggest adjustment will be when we finally are able to go back to church. Even though we are free to go back to church again, we really aren't free. I mean, we are free as long as we can socially distance ourselves from everyone...six feet apart in seating and standing and basically putting an invisible bubble around ourselves.  And then there's the mask...I don't even want to go there. And the offering plate...must not be passed from person to person anymore. Gotta find some "safe way" to give our tithe to God's House.  But even bigger and more difficult than that is the "no singing" policy. They (they being the "experts" on these things) say that choirs should not sing. Congregations should not sing. Singing apparently causes us to breathe out too much air and suck in too much air and it just might kill us.

Yes, I am having a difficult time thinking about all of these adjustments. I am truly having to pray really hard about this. I want to go back to church more than anything right now. But I want to go back to church the way it was. Our church was full of singing and rejoicing and praising the Lord together...and hugging...lots of hugging. Just thinking about taking all of that away is making me very sad and somewhat depressed, I might as well be honest.  Singing especially. That is one of the biggest parts of worship for me. I love to sing praises to the Lord. I've been singing since I learned how to make noise in my crib. I sang "Jesus Loves Me" from the time I could form words. I sang "Jesus Loves Me" to my babies in my womb and then when I held them in my arms for the first time and every time I could. I would still sing it to my grown up babies if they'd let me.  We sang it every Sunday morning in our worship service as the little children would line up to go out for Children's Church. 

I'm sorry. Obviously I am not adjusting to this idea very well. But let me tell you why.

Remember when Jesus was entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the Sunday before His crucifixion?  Do you remember how as He entered the city on the colt,  (see Luke 19:35-40):

"The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:

"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!"  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

39.  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."

40.  But He answered and said to them, 

"I tell you that if these should keep silent, 

the stones would immediately cry out."

That's how I feel about this whole thing...especially the not singing part.  There is no way that I can sit through a whole worship service and not sing praises to my Lord. I have visions of myself jumping up from my seat and singing the Doxology from the top of my voice:

"Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

Praise  Him all creatures here below!

Praise Him above ye heavenly host!

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Amen" 

Much like this Mockingbird was doing this afternoon, from the tip top of the tallest tree, singing his heart out:

I know, it's only an hour or so on a Sunday morning. I should be able to adjust for that amount of time. And I suppose I could if it wasn't the fact that all these adjustments totally change everything about the way we worship together. The new "rules" tend to squash our joy and peace and enthusiasm for being in God's House.  I guess if you are a person who likes to just slip in the back pew and sit there for an hour and not speak to anyone or do anything but sit there, then it won't make much difference to you. But to me worship is active participation in the service. It's singing, praying, partaking in the worship of giving our tithes and offerings, participation in the Holy Sacrament of Communion. It's greeting our friends and visitors and making them feel welcome in God's house. It's filling up the pews with our family and friends and sitting close together, squeezing a hand or putting an arm around a shoulder when you know that person is praying and hurting and needing someone to agree with them in prayer either in their seat or kneeling at the prayer altar.  It's shaking the Pastor's hand at the close of the service as we go out the door, thanking him for his message that touched our hearts and brought comfort to our souls. 

Somehow I believe that God is bigger than all of these "rules" and new "adjustments".  I know what people are thinking and saying..."She doesn't care about health and safety". "She's a rebel and we need to stay away from her because she might burst out singing and breathe on us and give us the virus."

Well, maybe I am a rebel. I'm having to pray about that, because I certainly would never want to be the cause for someone else's pain or illness.  But I don't want to be cringing in fear every time someone comes near me to welcome me. I don't want to hold in the songs that keep bubbling up out of my heart that is filled with the joy of the Lord. I don't want to be the one that makes the rocks cry out because I refused to praise my Lord.  So you might want to pray for me to be able to adapt and adjust to whatever the new rules might be, because above all else, I want to praise my Lord and worship in His house again, no matter what.

Okay, stop the presses a moment...take a deep breath! One of my friends from church emailed this quote to me today...and I just re-read it and realized I should have been doing this instead of ranting.

"Take a deep breath and let the peace of the Risen Christ fill you now."

John 20:19

"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them,

"Peace be with you."

Prayer:

"Risen Christ,

Breathing out, I release my fear. Inhaling, I receive your peace. Your peace renews my spirit.

Hallelujah! Amen."

(Rev. Leigh Anne Taylor President, The Fellowship Revitalization Coordinator,

Lynchburg District of the Virginia Conference, Lynchburg, VA)

On a much brighter note, as we left the house this afternoon to take a ride and go for a walk after a day full of rain (praise the Lord for the rain!), just as we turned onto the highway we looked up and saw this beautiful rainbow:

And it reminded me that God is with us and has promised to always be with us. Even in the midst of this stormy time of riding the waves of this "pandemic", His promises are true. He will not forsake His children. The rainbow is God's symbol of hope and promise. We will get through this time.

I need to be patient and trust Him with all of these concerns and "adjustments". He knows my heart, and He will help me.

"Just take a deep breath and let the peace of the Risen Christ fill you now."

Amen.

Now,  concerning the changes in Blogger, I've been using the changed interface to write this post. I am not real happy with the way it handles the pictures especially, and some of the other formatting issues. I know they are going to try to force us to change over, but I did see where the original format will still be available. I don't know for how long, but my first choice would be to stick with the original if possible. But I guess I will have to pray about this too!!! You know, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks! LOL.

I hope you will have a blessed and beautiful week. I apologize for being negative. But these are issues I am trying to work through, and perhaps you are too. Let's pray for one another, okay? Okay.