Serious Faith-Walking Now

An unwelcome guest entered our home over the holidays. We spent the last ten months vigilantly keeping out so many of those we love in order to keep our home free of Covid. We have not eaten inside a restaurant or flown on a plane since then either. We’ve only seen our parents, outside, for brief periods of time in all that time. Somehow, some way Covid won and entered our home anyway.

It has not all been pieced together how this happened. My husband started showing symptoms a week ago, was tested the next day and we found out the positive results of his test in the hours before the year turned new. It seems super strange that the word positive is what is used for that bad news. We’d been waiting for 2021 but so far it has been a rough year. He’s had almost all the symptoms but is doing better now and we are so grateful. He immediately said he didn’t want this on social media but I caught him in a weak moment to ask permission to share this news. I needed to write through what it has been like faith wise.

We went into a new, even more serious kind of lockdown but this time we were locking down knowing the virus was in our home with us. This is even harder psychologically than just plain old lock down. I’ve never cleaned, disinfected, done so much laundry or managed as much medication as I have this past week. Our Christmas tree is still up with presents under it because we never got to finish Christmas with half our family. I’m either way behind or ready for Christmas 2021, depending on how you look at it.

Most of last year I preached, wrote and spoke on what a great spiritual opportunity we were having in letting go, trusting God and relinquishing control in 2020….me and my big mouth. Little did I know our family would enter a deeper spiritual opportunity with a bigger chance for practicing our faith.

This morning, as I always do, I journaled through my messy feelings. On the list was fear, worry about EVERYONE battling this, more specific worry about the few people we had been around and possibly exposed, thoughts about who’s had it here, who will get it, will we be okay, our long term plans, short term plans and everything in between. I laid everything at God’s feet and wrote, I need your help, God.

I opened Jesus Calling as I do daily. Starting this year, I’m using the new Note-Taking Edition. It is awesome. January 4 started out this straight forwardly, I want you to learn a new habit. Try saying, “I trust You, Jesus,” in response to whatever happens to you.

Do prayers really get answered that fast? Do they? If so, wow, just wow.

In the same journaling session I looked at the Jesus Calling entry for today January 5 in order to get ready for our Tuesday morning Prayer Call. (Join us for this. It’s a Holy 15 minutes each week.) That entry said, Thus begins your journey of profound reliance on Me. It is a faith-walk, taken one step at time, leaning on Me as much as you need.

Do prayers really get answered that fast?

So here’s the deal. Our family is going through a Hard Time. All kinds of people out there are going through different kinds of Hard Times right now. Fill in the blank for yours: divorce? addiction? depression? anxiety? heart wrenching cancellation of some plans or dream you had? your health? money? job? lockdown woes? isolation? disease of some other kind? grief? just a million little things that make it hard right now?

Yesterday, as we were dealing with all these Covid things, my son pointed out that my dog was shivering. It wasn’t cold in our house. I waited until he left the room and cried. I could not stand it that the dog was shivering. There was NO WAY in which I could deal with that on top of everything else. (She’s fine by the way.)

Have you ever felt like that? Are you dealing with a Hard Thing? Has some unwelcome guest entered your safe space?

If so, please know, God answers prayer. Sometimes really fast. Lay it all out there, then listen.

God whispered silently to me, I want you to learn a new habit. Try trusting Me. Lean into Me. Depend on Me. Faith-walk into this new year.

Dr. Cindy Ryan is a faith-walker, pastor, wife, mother of three, breast cancer survivor, Mosa to Keller, Pace and River. To read more blogs, see upcoming events or to learn about the weekly Jesus Calling Prayer Call she co-hosts go to http://www.drcindryryanblog.com.