These Extraordinary Days
Sitting in her car, sparkly iPhone clutched in hand, the young woman silently breathed a prayer. Beads of sweat along her brow, heartbeat racing, stomach tied in knots—quiet tears began to flow. Panic surging through her body like a high-speed, adrenaline-filled bullet train. Parked outside the Target store where she had shopped too many times to count, she sat frozen in fear. Immobilized by an invisible enemy.
It was the summer of 2020 you see, the month of June. This year that will live in infamy, one that we and our fellow citizens of the world will be talking about—forever. The pandemic mandates were ramping up in early summer. We all remember this well, as it was only 4 months ago, and yet somehow feels like a lifetime ago.
On that hot, summer day in Minnesota, a young woman sat trembling in a parking lot in fear of the thought that walking into a store might kill her. Fear of contaminated air and surfaces—of human vectors containing a virus while masquerading as shoppers, cashiers, neighbors. Silent, unknown killers. Convinced of the danger she sat in terror—and yet still in need of milk for her son, food for her cat. As quiet tears turned into messy sobs she called her husband. Pressing speed dial on her phone, she grasped for a lifeline to reason and sanity. To safety.
Variations of this true story have played out across our nation in recent months. Collectively and individually we have cried out in fear. We grieve the loss of what was and fear an unknown future. We all can relate on some level to the panic this woman experienced.
This is trauma. It’s shaping us, changing us, in ways that we are unaware and only time will fully reveal. The tears are real. The fear is real. The pain and sorrow are all real. And so can our response of love and courage be equally real.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Extra care. Extra kindness. Extra patience. Extraordinary love in equal measure to the challenges of these extraordinary days. Let the love and care that we share for one another be the enduring reality. Let love be our lifeline.
Dear friend, if you find yourself in a dark moment of fear, perhaps alone in a car with no one answering your call for help, know there is a Lifeline available at all times. A Hope we can hold onto with both hands, He will never let us go. This unbreakable Lifeline to lasting hope and courage for the extraordinary (and ordinary) days of our lives—is a person. His name is Jesus.
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“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19