Is anyone else struggling with the feeling of being completely out of control? With each day that passes, the more we come to terms with the fact that there are very few things we can control during this COVID19 crisis. Everything from where we stand at the grocery store to when our kids go back to school to whether we will keep our job is out of our hands. 

When things feel chaotic and uncertain, it’s natural to try to grab onto anything that gives us a sense of control and normalcy. But the more we grasp, the more disappointed we are  when things don’t go the way we’d planned. 

We often say restoration isn’t something we do, it’s the work God does that we simply participate in. It’s understanding that the path toward peace requires we release control so we can fully participate in the world that God is making. The path is unexpected, uncertain and even costly…but it’s when we open our hands and our hearts that we experience the holy liberation of being “out of control” and fully present to join with God in fixing what’s broken in and around us.    

For some of us, our inherited power and privilege create the illusion that we have control in that we can choose to stay home or work virtually or keep up on our bills. Others don’t have the luxury of this illusion as they lose their immigration status, continue to work everyday in our fields and factories and come home to over-crowded apartments. 

How might this moment draw us closer to the reality of our neighbors and liberate us to fully participate in the restoration we trust God is making in the midst of all the brokenness? 

For some of us, pursuing peace requires we loosen our grip. 

It requires we learn from the faith of our neighbors.

It requires we trust that God will bring resurrection even among all the death.