Day 41

I don't know how you are calculating days as to when we started this whole shelter in place/stay at home/quarantine or whatever you want to call it but for me if I had to pick a start date it would be March 15, since that was the Sunday that we didn't have in person worship for the first time. The schools began "at home learning" on March 16th, or at least that is the first day the kids didn't go to their campuses as scheduled. I'm no math major but starting with March 15th, then April 24th would have been day 41. If you start with when we "officially" began to shelter at home then day 41 would have sometime last week.

You may know that 40 is a rather significant number in the bible and occurs time and time again. In the story of Noah it rains for 40 days and 40 nights. The people wandered in the desert for 40 years. In the story of David and Goliath, Goliath taunts the opposing army for 40 days. The devil tempts Jesus for 40 days. Jesus is with the disciples after the resurrection for 40 days. Do you since a pattern here? And in each of these forty day periods there were challenges and tough times for people. Much like there are challenges for us right now, maybe you can relate. What has been challenging for you?

For me and my family there have been challenges, it has not always been smooth sailing all the time. For instance when it was announced the kids would not go back to "in person" school this spring I was so frustrated that I actually got on to Carson rather harshly for chewing his food too loud. I guess I simply had a bad day or the day-to-day "new normal" finally got to me. It's been difficult not being able to see family, friends, and church members and to have many face-to-face conversations. And the entire family is at home which makes it more difficult to get work done. Not to mention my limited mobility the last few days due to my unfortunate biking accident. Those are just some of my frustrations over these 40 days and I'm sure you have some frustrations to speak of as well.

But what about what follows? I began reading a book entitled 41 Will Come and it brings up the idea of the day after the 40th day. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights but on the 41st day the rain subsided.  God's people roamed the desert for 40 years but in the 41st year they entered the promised land. Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days but on the 41st day David stepped up to challenge him. Jesus is tempted by the devil for 40 days but on the 41st day Jesus began his public ministry. Jesus is with the disciples for 40 days after the resurrection but on the 41st day Jesus leaves them with the promise of the Holy Spirit.

I don't believe the number 40 is a literal number in all these cases but the significance is not lost on me that the number 40 is important. And what comes after 40 is important as well. There were struggles for the people in those 40 days (and 40 years) in these biblical stories just as there have probably been struggles for you during the 40 days of this pandemic. The good news is that God always sees us through turbulent times. The people struggled and had doubts and that is okay. There's God's promise on the other side of this. I truly believe that.

I believe that this time, although difficult and different, will help us to be more aware and be better at many, many things. I believe we will check on people we care about more often because of this. I believe the ways we have reached out to everyone during this time will continue. I believe that the new, creative, and necessary ways we have done ministry during this time will help us to do ministry better in the future. And maybe most importantly, I believe our relationships with family, friends, loved ones, and our relationship with God will be stronger. So here's to day 41 that will come after these "40 days." In the meantime, make the best of this time to grow in your faith and your personal life!!!

Grace & Peace
Kevin