Life Will Find a Way

I'm sitting here listening to my cousin, Luke Laird's, new album on Alexa. Luke is my second cousin...or first cousin once removed...or something like that. That stuff confuses me to no end. Our mothers are first cousins and our grandfathers were brothers. So, whatever that makes us in the cousin world. The songs on this album are very personal and reflective...we didn't grow up together, but we're different shoots on the same family tree so the music strikes a chord somewhere in my spirit.

Reflective seems to be the mood of the day. I started this morning by doing my Bible study and writing in my journal as I always do. I completed a journal today...right down to the last line on the last page. I don't know about you, but the day I start a journal and the day I finish it are always kind of "big" days. The first day is one of expectation and wonder of what life will bring to fill the pages. The last day begs for a look back to see where life has taken me. Did it even come close to what I was expecting? What did I learn? 

The journal I ended today was begun on January 1, 2020. I was full of hope for a year of change. Be careful what you wish for, huh?

When the year began I was employed full-time, but not loving it due to a very difficult boss. Barely into January I asked to drop back to part-time. 

In February it came to light that the nursing home was in a dire financial situation. People were fired. People quit. Work was crazy and it seemed uncertain how things would play out.

In March Covid-19 became the roar heard around the world. At the beginning of the month the nursing home began taking extreme safety measures and stopped all visits. Since this was all new and we didn't know what to expect, rumors flew and everyone was afraid. It also became clear that the fallout from the financial woes would mean I'd have to work with my boss again. I quit my job on March 20, one day before our state's shelter-at-home order went into effect.

The rest of March and all of April were a bit like a long vacation with everyone at home. It was also a time of adjustment as we, and the world with us, learned how to navigate our "new normal." (Is anyone else as sick of that term as I am?) It was quite a weird thing to not be able to go anywhere or see anyone. 

In the months since then we've celebrated holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. I met my father and one of my brothers for the first time. We've learned to work, worship, celebrate and party virtually. We have binge watched a show about the most depraved people imaginable and turned a Tiger King into a celebrity. 

We've watched the world shut down, start to reopen, and hover again on the brink of shutting down. We have seen the divide along racial, political, social, and economic lines widen and go deep. We have seen (or experienced) families torn apart. We have seen the best of humanity. We have seen the worst. We have shared joys and we have whined. In short, we have gone on about the business of living. I think of the Jeff Goldblum quote from Jurassic Park, "Life will find a way."

Where the next two months will take us, I have no idea...especially with the presidential election looming over us next week. But I do one thing, God, my God, is in control. Romans 13:1 tells us: 

We can be assured that no matter who wins next week or what our new normal turns out to be, God is the ultimate authority and He is in control and on His throne!