May 2020

Prelude to conversation…

We are DONE with the COVID quarantine! … as in fed up with…ready for it to be over… cabin fever… get us out of here…

In our society we have gotten use to immediate gratification of whatever we want. If the store is out of it… we go home and order on line. In fact… we order it on line even before we go to the store… we can’t wait.

So…we are out of our comfort zones to have to wait… and to be patient while we do.
Our response to COVID is asking us to be patient…and patience seems to be a difficult thing.

We are not the only ones frustrated with waiting.
The Psalmists often start their psalms with an impatient complaint …
The bad guy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade can’t wait to try out the Holy Grail…
In the Fable the rabbit can’t wait to get started but then becomes impatient with the lack of competition…

Of course… we do see the results of the lack of patience.
The Psalmists always come to recognize the presence and goodness of God… be still and know.
The bad guy pays the price of impatience and Indiana Jones patiently makes a wise choice.
In the Fable the turtle…slow and steady …wins the race.

This week … it is a marvelous example to us that 3 of our best scientists have self-quarantined.
They have very responsible jobs… and yet they are choosing patience. Perhaps they have read the Fable…or seen the movie.
If you haven’t seen the movie… watch it… it is delightful on a number of levels… but for now suffice it to say that the impatience of the bad guy leads to exactly the opposite of what he is hoping for…

What are we hoping for?
In the long run…I believe that slow and steady …patience … being still… lead to life…

Alexa… 😊

We all hope that COVID will go away… but let’s be patient in the process.

Pastor Ted Anderson

Shared with the congregation by Pastor Hoyt.