#1 Way to Survive 2020
“My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.”
-Psalm 83:8
Over the past few months of quarantine I realized that I need a little extra help around the house, so I started chore charts for my kids. Age appropriate duties like unloading the dishwasher, folding clothes, arranging the pillows on the couch, or emptying the dryer have been earning my boys a few dollars and cents each week. (Or in their language, tickets and coins.) We haven’t been venturing out much, but yesterday the boys talked me into going to the dollar store to spend a little of their hard earned cash. For the past few days the boys have been busy engineering and attaching pipe cleaners and crate paper as sails to Matchbox cars. They line them up behind a piece of blue painter’s tape stretched across our tile floor, turn on a small stand fan at the highest speed, and watch them takeoff! Yesterday Jayvan, my oldest, was adamant that he needed another pack of pipe cleaners for his race cars. We loaded in the minivan (no minivan mom shame here, that thing has all kinds of buttons and features that make my life easier) and on the way I asked them, “Okay boys, what are we looking for? Just pipe cleaners?” Jayvan responded, “Well, I am also looking for a pack of straws, a wolf, and a leaf blower.” Well, that escalated quickly. “Wow Buddy, that’s quite the list. Asher, what are you going to buy with your coins?” “A cucumber.” He replied quite matter of factually. So off we went, to the Dollar General in search of pipe cleaners, straws, a wolf, a leaf blower, and a cucumber.
Upon arriving at the store I began my typical Covid-19 speech. “Boys, remember, the sickness is still out there so please do not touch things that we are not going to buy and…” Jayvan quickly finished my sentence for me, “…and stay away from other people. We know, we know, Mom! Can we just go in?” Ya’ll, my children were little angels in that store. They stayed behind me like little ducklings and never touched a thing. It’s like this whole time, all kids needed before entering a public place was the fear of Covid in them!
Once inside we began our search for the items we had come for. After realizing a few of the items were out of stock (or perhaps just aren’t sold at dollar stores) they happily settled for a toy motorcycle complete with obnoxious lights and noises, and a Lion King ball. On our return home the backseat was filled with giddy laughter as they clung to their new purchases; purchases they made with money they had earned all by themselves. Their hard work had paid off!
Watching them cling to their new treasured possessions somehow made me think about this year. 2020 has not been easy. We have lost a lot of things that we may have previously clung to. Our jobs. Our health. Our ability to travel. Our freedoms. Our financial security. Our routines. Our homes. But there is one thing that cannot and will not be taken from us, and that thing is the cross.
That’s it friends. That is the #1 way we are going to survive 2020: by clinging to the cross. I don’t mean this flippantly at all. For many people, this year feels like things are spiraling out of control. The only way we are not going to spiral with it is if we are clinging to the thing that can never be taken from us. A thing that is steadfast and true. A thing that is built on solid ground. A thing that secures our eternity and gives us Hope for tomorrow.
Psalm 63:8 says, “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.”
Deuteronomy 13:4 says, “You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”
Joshua 23:8 says, “But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.”
Last week my hometown of Midland, Michigan experienced widespread flooding. Even if you don’t live in the area, you may have seen images of the destruction on Good Morning America, NBC News, CNN, the Washington Post, or other news outlets. There is a river that runs through our downtown which flows through several man-made lakes before it reaches our town. After multiple days of intense rain, the dams which held the lakes intact began to break or breach which resulted in incredibly high floodwaters that washed away people’s entire homes. Over 11,000 people were forced out of their homes in a matter of hours. Many of my hometown friends had floodwater in their basements and main levels of their homes. The past few days have been daunting as the demolition got underway. A week ago their homes were intact, serving as a sanctuary during a pandemic that has shut down their state for months. Within moments, families were evacuated from their homes and forced to seek refuge at friends’ houses, hotels, or group shelters.
One of my best childhood friends is currently pregnant with a baby girl, due in July. She, her husband, and their 4 year old son fled their house quickly, leaving behind important medication she needed for gestational diabetes. She knew by the circumstances that she would be away from her home for multiple days and asked if I would pray for her levels to stay healthy until she could get back home to her medicine. Yesterday she sent me this message:
“I just wanted to thank you for the prayers for my blood sugar while I didn’t have my insulin. All my numbers were perfectly in range without it until I got back home and could use it again! I tried going without it at home to see if things had gotten better somehow and they were not in control anymore so I am completely convinced the prayers and God’s intervention are what was keeping me in range and even on the low side without it!”
You see, while her house was filling with water, while her belongings were saturating in mud and floating in a displaced lake, not for a moment was God’s presence washed out of her life.
She left behind her medication, but it is impossible to leave behind His presence. Her belongings are laying in heaping piles at the curb outside her house, but the presence of the Lord is fresh over her life. I don’t doubt that she is not enjoying the process of tearing apart her house and throwing away things she loved, but she is clinging to the cross, and through the power of prayer and her faith, she still has joy, hope, peace, comfort, strength, grace, mercy, and the other irrevocable gifts Her Father has freely given.
As I write this blog post I am reminded of the hymn "The Old Rugged Cross". It was originally written by George Bennard, though he is known to have said, “I really didn’t write it. I was merely the instrument God used.” Interestingly, Bennard wrote the song where he lived and preached in Albion, Michigan. Perhaps it’s time we sat with our Bibles open and this old country hymn on our hearts. I’ll leave the lyrics right here in case you want to join me.
“The Old Rugged Cross”
By George Bennard
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
And I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
To the old rugged cross I will ever be true
It's shame and reproach gladly bear
Then he'll call me someday to my home far away
Where his glory forever I'll share
And I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
And I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
Sweet friends, cling to the cross. It’s not just how you will survive 2020, but it’s the sole ingredient you need to thrive.
His Kingdom come, His will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
