I have always loved roller coasters–the excitement, the adrenaline, and the healthy fear that comes from riding. If I were to describe 2020 in an image, it would be a roller coaster. January started off with such excitement because it was 2020!

A year to focus on what is important.

I can’t begin to tell you the number of churches and organizations that had some tagline relating to 2020. But then the Coronavirus happened. For many of us, the excitement merged into terror and fear of the unknown and since then it has been up and down as things have opened and then closed before opening up again. Changes happen so rapidly that no one is able to plan long into the future.

Much of the church’s growth ministry since March has been virtual.

• Our Vacation Bible School was canceled.
• Confirmation Sunday was postponed.
• 1^st Communion was postponed. 
• A majority of our adult Bible studies and student groups had to find new ways to connect together.

However, even in this new reality, I have heard some amazing stories such as…

• Our past members who have been deployed or moved around the country being able to reconnect with God’s Word through our Connection Groups being hosted on Zoom.
• I’ve heard some great stories of families getting together with their neighbors for bonfires, outdoor movies, and just being in relationships with the people whom they live near.
• Lastly, I’ve heard a few stories from families who have started having real and authentic faith discussions in their homes.

While these examples have always been a part of our lives, I believe that COVID-19 allowed us to focus on them a little more. Before COVID most of us were distracted and busy going from one place to the next every day, and we were suddenly forced to be still.

It has been a year to focus on what is important, but perhaps not in the way we expected.

In all the changes we have experienced in the last many months, one thing has not changed. God. He is the same today as he was pre-COVID, and the same as he will be in 2100.

The real question is how will we change? God has certainly been blessing us even in the midst of this crisis. I challenge you to take a look at the things you have been able to do because of COVID.

• What do you want to keep doing and experiencing?
• To make that happen, what do you need to continue giving up?

God’s Word gives us some great wisdom on what the meaning of life is. Many people believe that ‘to be happy’ is the meaning. But if COVID has taught us anything, it is that we can still have a meaningful life without being happy all the time. The book of Ecclesiastes concludes with this phrase “Fear God, and keep his commands, because this applies to everyone[1].” We are on the roller coaster; God has got us tucked in nice and tight. Even though it might feel like we are going to fall out sometimes, He’s got this. God doesn’t change. Instead, let all of us look for God in the new normal and seek to follow and obey Him above everything else.

[1] GOD’S WORD Translation. (1995). (Ec 12:13). Grand Rapids: Baker Publishing Group.

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