Category Archives: #Coronavirus2020

Peace Over Panic in a Pandemic


“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

Mic drop. I was reading yesterday in our Lent study (which has taken us through the book of John and cataloged Jesus’ life on earth), and I got to this verse and stopped. 

Jesus shared these words with His disciples just a few chapters before He was nailed to the cross. He was preparing His disciples for a difficult time and knew they needed to experience peace.

The amazing thing about Jesus’ words is they transcend thousands of years and are still timely for us today. Peace. Jesus says He gives peace. And then follows that up with saying we do not need to be troubled or afraid. I think we all could soak in this encouragement during this season of quarantine.

Sometimes experiencing peace feels a lot harder to do than other times. And right now I’ve struggled to find peace in the midst of so much apprehension going on in the world. I find myself scrolling my newsfeed or checking my news app and then my mind shifts into panic mode. 

I admit I have felt stressed when I have left the bubble of my house. Yesterday we ventured to Costco. I haven’t made a trip out to a store in a while and I could feel my anxiety level rise anticipating the trip. My mind began conjuring up theories of how we could possibly contract the virus just so we could get a package of TP. 

Truthfully, being at the store didn’t produce peace. People wearing masks and gloves reminded me times are different right now. My sensitive heart could hardly handle the stress on everyone’s faces.

When I got back in the car after that trip I told the Lord that I needed Him to give me some peace because I couldn’t be so on edge like this for the next several months. I intellectually knew I didn’t need to panic, but it felt like that was how everyone was reacting, so maybe I should follow the trend. (Not exactly healthy, I know…)

And that is when the verse I read a few days earlier popped back in my head. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

I realized after my panicked errand yesterday that I need to be filling my mind and heart with truth to combat the fears that are rising within me. Like for instance, when I got home, I wrote the encouraging words of John 14 on my chalkboard in the kitchen to remind myself daily. 

How about instead of feasting my mind on news and newsfeeds, I turn my eyes to what God says?

It is not lost on me that Jesus said He doesn’t give peace like the world gives. If we’re watching the news or scrolling our newsfeeds, we are told we will find peace when we are done sheltering in place or when a vaccine is made for COVID-19. 

But can we find peace in the midst of a pandemic? Or a quarantine? Or the unknown? 

Jesus says YES. He tells us to not let our hearts be troubled. Now, that doesn’t mean we never have concern. Or we don’t take appropriate precautions or educate ourselves. But I believe Jesus’ words are encouraging us to not live in fear. To not let the fear consume us. To keep a steady diet of truth.

For me to not let my heart be troubled, I’m going to try to fill myself up with what God says about peace. I have begun searching my Bible for encouraging verses that bring me peace. I wanted to share them with you too. When my fear kicks up in the days ahead, these are the words I am going to return to. What about you? What else would you add to this list?

Holding onto peace together,

Michelle 

 

  • “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Isaiah 26:3

 

  • “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

 

  • “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6

 

  • “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

 

  • “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs on your head are numbered. So, don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29

 

  • Also a song I have been playing over and over: Peace Be Still by The Belonging Co.

 

 

Lessening the Load

You may be like me and wondering how to pass this quarantine time with our kids. Our blog team has been searching for some ideas that we have listed below. But before we get to that, I wanted to share something that stood out to me. 

 

Much of our Lent study, He is Alive from Becky Kiser, has centered on the book of John.  When I read John 2, I had never considered one certain aspect of the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine. At the wedding, the people had prepared all on their own without considering Jesus for help.  It was not until they had exhausted their own resources that Jesus stepped in. (Sure sounds familiar to me…) He waited patiently for the moment of desperation to do his miracle. (Just like He does with us.)

 

You can probably guess why this part of the story jumped out at me. Clearly we’re all feeling a little more desperate these days. So I started pondering this and asking God – what is it you want us to take from this story and apply to our lives?

 

Perhaps the biggest Corona Lesson of all is to lessen our load by calling on Jesus BEFORE we completely run out of our own resources. How can we make Jesus the one we call on first in every situation? I try to make this my lifestyle, but I do see where there are areas I rely on my own strength out of habit instead of Him.  Here’s what happened at that wedding, though: Jesus’ supply of miracle wine was SO MUCH BETTER than theirs. I wonder what would have happened if they would have called on Jesus first?!

 

Right after the miracle of turning water into wine in John 2, Jesus immediately turns the tables over in the temple. He said he would rebuild the temple that took over 45 years in three days.   As I read that, I thought – He can rebuild us so much better than we can in our own strength.  

 

 I don’t know about you, but I feel inundated with ideas and activities to keep our kids entertained and academically on track while we all quarantine. You have asked us for some Survival Ideas on our Instagram & Facebook stories, so we have been pondering just a few resources to share.  Much like the cheap wine versus the fine wine in John 2, we want to encourage you not to let yourself get exhausted by all the freebies and websites floating around for “stuff to do” while staying at home during Corona. 

 

So with all of this in mind, please find just a few survival ideas from our TtT Tribe below.  We are here for you, mamas uniting together to not just survive but actually thrive during this trying time. Let’s help each other not crowd Jesus out of this precious, delicate time. Instead, may we look for the opportunities He gives us right now.

Corona Survival Ideas:

Generic “Just for Fun” Educational Ideas You are probably inundated by ideas, but this short list is curated by Jo, a PK-14 public school certified educator and administrator.

Kindergarten from Home Follow along with Jo and her son as they navigate this whole new world of work-from-home sort-of as a middle school assistant principal but also new SAHM/Kindergarten teacher! We will offer some Facebook Live / Instagram Live Read-alouds just for fun as well.

Art for Kids Hub: Rob and one of his kids give a side by side tutorial of how to draw many things. Their website has a great index where you can find animals, food, cartoons, and so much more.

Cincinnati Zoo Facebook Live video each weekday at 1pm EST featuring a different animal (videos posted to the page later so you can watch anytime).

Harptoons has lots of step by step drawing videos my kids love. Illustrator Steve Harpster also goes live on his Harptoons Publishing Facebook page everyday at 2pm EST to do a step by step drawing presentation. (Videos are posted to his page later so you can watch them anytime.)

One final thought (that I shamelessly stole from Facebook, but it’s wonderful!): Did you know that while in quarantine situations, Shakespeare wrote King Lear, Isaac Newton developed calculus & discovered gravity, Paul wrote part of the New Testament, and John Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress?

I pray our kids remember this time with fondness of spending hours with us outside, making crafts, reading, cooking, and seeing humanity being the hands and feet of Jesus. I pray this will be a wake up call to society that the true backbone of our world are workers like teachers, nurses, truck drivers, and hourly employees at restaurants/coffee shops/grocery stores. I pray this will be unifying for the United States much like the wake of 9/11/2001 was for us.

May we use our opportunities for eternal purposes and may we look back and see how God showed you and have us everything we needed.

Comment down below with your own Corona Lessons, encouraging verses, and prayer requests, Mamas.

Air Hugs,
Jo

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