I have this very large overstuffed chair in my living room where I sit in to spend time with God. I either curl up into it or drape my legs over the arm of the chair, and that’s where I’m at peace. It’s where I can pray my heart out, but also where I can hear music play as I do my Bible study. I also have a place away from home where I can find peace and where I’m met with God’s creative work. That place is my nephew’s vineyard atop a ridge in Vernon County that overlooks the farms and ridges with a 180 degree view. I can sit on the deck looking out and seeing all that God has created. It is there that I find peace and rest.

These last few month of being home and not meeting with my Bible study friends, church staff, or getting coffee with a friend catching up with each other has been hard. We’ve had Zoom meetings, we’ve talked over the phone and even talked being 6-10 feet apart, but that just isn’t enough. The human contact of hugging, touching a shoulder, holding a hand, or resting your head on someone’s shoulder has become so important to me. I so miss the gathering of people who care about one another, being able to share our burdens and our joys not only in words but in the active touch of being human. I must admit that I’ve grown weary of not being able to worship with others, welcome people into worship and to enjoy fellowship with one another.

The only thing that has sustained me over the last few months is knowing that this time of separation will not last forever. We’ll be gradually gathering together, first in small groups and larger and larger as the time goes on. During this time, I will rest in God’s promises as Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” So I go to God in prayer and petitions and also in thanksgiving for all that he has provided for me during this time.

In God’s goodness he sends me little bits of encouragement, like when a friend calls me, or when I get a text message from my daughters. These things energize me to continue to do what is right. We are called to do what is good and right and not grow weary in doing it, as II Thessalonians 3:13 says, “Brothers and sister do not be weary in doing what is right.” God gives what each of us needs to continue, for it has been good and right for us to stay at home, protecting our elders and those who are vulnerable.

I hope you have a place in your home where you find time to be with God and a place somewhere else that refreshes your soul. Since we haven’t been able to go to the vineyard, I have been closing my eyes and imagining that I am there, sitting at a small table, with a glass of wine, a cool breeze blowing over me making me feel just right. I breathe in the fresh air finding rest, thanking God for his creation and being able to enjoy it.