Remember When?

Picture yourself 10 years from now sitting down at the dinner table with your family at Easter. In the middle of your Easter dinner, you recall past Easters. Before long, you say “Remember when we were locked down in quarantine for Easter?” The little ones at the time didn’t remember much, so they asked you to share about Easter 2020. “Well, it was quite a crazy time in our world back then….

Ten years from now, what will you say about Easter 2020?

Of course, I would tell others about the horrific loss of life in our country and around the world. I would share about the brave workers on the front lines like the doctors, nurses, childcare workers, grocery workers, first responders, public servants and more. I would share funny stories about going potentially stir crazy in my home. I would share how we watched online church from our couch. I would share about donning a mask and gloves and sailing through my HEB, first and foremost making a beeline for the toilet paper aisle. Of course, I’d share about my fears, uncertainties and concerns for the future.

More than anything else, I would be sure to share about my faith being tested during the COVID-19 virus. I would share how Easter came at a perfect time for me…..right in the middle of the quarantine! This unique, quiet and contained Easter allowed me to engage more in Jesus’ walk to the cross, feel His death and savor His resurrection. I saw in the Bible, Jesus, after his resurrection, encouraging his disciples by saying “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19) It seemed as if Jesus was telling me the same, “Nancy, peace be with you!” I remembered that the “same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me” (Romans 8:11) and that did it!!!!! I would stand strong in faith and truly believe that Christ lives in me and I need not fear. Period. I would walk through this virus with confidence and hope and seek to pass that on to others. 

Yes, that’s what I would say 10 years later. I would talk about my how my faith was tested and God got me through!

If this COVID-19 period is testing your faith, maybe that’s a good thing. I want my faith to be tested! I want to rise up and walk with courage through this with Jesus at my side. Let’s embrace these moments of our day and trust our God to see us through. Happy Day-After-Easter!

“I can see waters raging at my feet. I can feel the breath of those surrounding me. I can hear the sound of nations rising up. We will not be overtaken. We will not be overcome. I can walk down this dark and painful road. I can face every fear of the unknown. I can hear all God’s children singing out. We will not be overtaken.  We will not be overcome. The same power that rose Jesus from the grave. The same power that commands the dead to wake lives in us, lives in us. The same power that moves mountains when He speaks. The same power that can calm a raging sea lives in us, lives in us. He lives in us, lives in us.“ (Same Power, Jeremy Camp)

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.