2020, A YEAR, NO ONE WILL FORGET
Not to mince words, but 2020 was rough and tough. Everyone has many stories, they can tell, which they lived out, during the year of the Covid-19 Pandemic about civil unrest, economic distress, political turmoil, distrust, fear of the unknown, and life and death. No one was immune, to the problems of 2020. Many became and continue to feel stress, are depressed and have a general feeling of hopelessness.
James 5:7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.
To some, it seems every turn in life, becomes a personal wrong turn, for them. It can become a burden that is very difficult to shake. Life dictates us, to continue to make decisions, but now, many are expecting, the other shoe, to drop, no matter, what they decide. James tells us to be patient, until the Lord comes and gives us an example of how to do it based on the works and faith of a farmer. The farmer prepares the soil, plants the seeds, and tends to the plants. Even though the farmer does all of this work, he has to wait on the rain at the appropriate times, to water the seeds, to make them sprout and rain to fall on the plants for them to grow and produce the fruits of the earth.
However, the farmer needs to have faith, that the rain will come, as needed. There is nothing he can do to make it rain when he feels it is needed. He has to patiently trust God to make it rain. With all the troubling events and situations we have faced in 2020 and continue on in 2021, we need to learn from the farmer.
Like the farmer, we need to do what can be done to help solve the problem or situation and once we have done all, then patiently wait on God to bring it to fruition. God does not want us to live in fear, doubt, and despair, but he expects us to do our part and trust Him, to bring his resolution to our problems of life. If we do what we can and have faith in God to do what we can’t, 2021 could turn out to be one of the best years of our Lives.
-Dennis Helms, Chaplain
