Recently, I led our little Bible Study group through an Anne Graham Lotz devotional entitled, An Open Letter to the Weary, which I thought would be super appropriate considering what we all went through in 2020 and what specifically my congregation had been trough in the last several years. It’s a good thing I didn’t realize what we were getting into or I would have picked something else entirely to study and missed out on this blessing. The study covers Haggai, a minor prophet, easy to miss because of its brevity, but we spent a good six weeks digging in and finding gems of God’s Wisdom.

One of the points that stood out the most to me is the older people whose excuse for not rebuilding the temple, really was not an excuse. They were just too busy standing around talking about how the temple used to be, the good ‘ol days. This stuck with me throughout the study. Anne moved on, but I did not. My heart got stuck right there because, though I’m only a youngin’ compared to most of our congregation, I too find myself longing for a time when my little knights did not have the vocabulary to discuss viruses, pandemics, and medical masks and could where an American flag shirt without worrying someone would take offense. I long for a time when we had civil discussions without having to be all on one side or another. I pine over stories of how the saints of my denomination marched in town, into bars, brothels, and under bridges with the Good News and a good meal. This reminds me of the disciples when Jesus ascended into Heaven as well. The angel told them to stop looking at the sky. Get busy.

The truth is that the “good ol’ days” weren’t always good and that they weren’t good for everyone. Pre-pandemic, I was trying to do everything I thought SHOULD be done, worn out programs that have “always” been done, and I was trying to do it on my own with two little ones in tow, all for Jesus…”work till Jesus comes”…. I was trying to get my boys into soccer and take a few classes myself (Doesn’t Dr. and Mr. have a nice ring to it?!) and get my home organized and ready for Martha Stewart’s approval. I was in constant danger of a return of the generalized anxiety and major depressive disorder taking over again. My favorite thing that has happened because of COVID is the opportunity to re-evaluate and clear away the unnecessary, the unfruitful, the unGodly expectations I had placed on myself and allowed others to place on my shoulders. It is still a daily crucifixion of my to-do list, but I am working to live in this present moment, with the people who are with me and those placed along my path, to join what God is already doing instead of trying to fit an old mold for a temple that has long since been destroyed.

How is God calling you to lay aside the past? What is He calling you to do, alongside Him, right now?