To my hundreds of readers on this blog, I’m sure you’re wondering what I’ve been up to for the past ten months, and the reasons why I haven’t posted in so long.

I took a break from blogging for almost a year, simply because I felt I didn’t have anything interesting to write about. After graduating from college, I got a job and it took awhile for me to acclimate to my new life (in my opinion, school stress is different from work stress. Weird).

I just haven’t had the energy, mental capacity or desire to write. I miss the long-form, analytical writing that I did in college – blogging just isn’t the same. Sometimes, I don’t feel like spilling all my thoughts, feelings and fears to whole world. Of course, a blog doesn’t have to be personal, but I find that many of the pieces I am drawn to write today come from my own experiences.

Speaking of experiences, a novel experience uniting the globe today is the COVID-19 pandemic. While other countries have had more experience with disease outbreaks, crises of this nature are rare in the U.S. From constant news updates, statistics, opinion columns, Facebook posts and cases in every community, our nation is gripped with fear and anxiety.

Our fears are not unfounded – currently, scientists are working feverishly to learn about the disease, as the number of cases continues to climb. The disease can lie dormant in a person’s body weeks before symptoms start to show. Kids are losing the emotional support and physical sustenance provided by their schools. Adults are losing jobs, money, loved ones and for many – their hope. There is no question that these are challenging times – for every person in our nation.

In the face of great adversity and uncertainty, how do we persevere?

What helps us to choose hope over anxiety and faith over fear?

Before the outbreak, I found that life was moving so fast. There were times I wished I could just slow everything down and take a break – enter COVID-19. While life has not come to a full stop, there a many things I would normally do in a week that are no longer part of my routine. In place of busyness, I have discovered an abundance of quiet and solitude.

I think many of us fear quiet and solitude – we fill our minds with external voices from TV, radio, music, podcasts and social media. We are afraid to be alone with our thoughts because that’s when we face our greatest fears and deepest emotions. With no protection to push away our fears, we become vulnerable.

What if quiet and solitude were seen as essential – for our personal and spiritual growth?

In our church service this morning, the pastor talked about how sometimes God intentionally slows us down. He brings us to a place of quiet and solitude – not to bore us or deprive us, but to show us something. He doesn’t want us to rush through life and miss His purposes.

I can’t claim to know the mind of God, but I do know this:

“We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28)

I know that many people in this world are hurting. Many have lost jobs, money, loved ones, peace of mind and hope. It seems impossible that any good would come from this pandemic. I believe that if we press into our relationship with God, He can show us how to choose hope over anxiety and faith over fear.

In the quiet of the slowed-down world, we can grow in our knowledge of who God is and His vision. In this season, He has given us the gift of time – time to rest, breathe, pray, process and praise.

In many ways, we are like the disciples, who faced many unknowns in their time following Jesus. In the Bible, John describes the disciples’ confusion when Jesus tells them that “in a little while, you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me” (John 16:16).

The disciples were perplexed – what could Jesus mean by this?

How would they know what to do without Him by their side? How would they face the world on their own? How could He really love them, if He was choosing to leave them behind?

In His response, Jesus builds their faith and calms their fear with words of comfort:

“‘A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 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 16:32-33).

With Jesus, we can choose hope over anxiety and faith over fear. This is not because of something we have done, but because He has already overcome the world. We may look around as see a world that is falling to pieces, but Jesus sees beauty in our brokenness, in a world that He sacrificed Himself to save.

As we walk through our new realty, my prayer is that we lean into our hope and our faith, now more than ever. My hope is that we become people of the Word and of prayer, who believe in a God that listen to our prayers with a heart that cares. My desire is to see our community become the hands and feet of Jesus – serving, making phone calls, delivering food and staying home to keep others safe.

In the middle of this chaos, may our love for one another be just a glimpse of heaven on this Earth.