On Faith & Family: Sheltered in home or sheltered in Christ?
On Faith and Family
By Leah Gibson of Paso Robles
It doesn’t matter if you’re gearing up for the end of the world, buying stock in Lysol products, Social Distancing, or socially awkward. Maybe you’re one of those unfortunate people who didn’t make it to Costco by ten A.M. and are now recklessly driving through town wearing cargo pants only to shove wads of toilet paper from local bathrooms into your pockets in a desperate attempt to save your family’s buns from evil. Bottom line: whoever you are, you’re being affected by COVID-19. We all are. In fact, in a weird, twisted, wacky kind of way, this virus and the fear it has struck is quite possibly one of the first unifying factors our society has had in a long time.
Leah Gibson
In recent articles, I have written about my little family and our nine-month journey toward remodeling and adding on to our house…with toddlers. This journey also began under unseemly circumstances after spending eighteen days in the NICU with our youngest son Colton. A story for another time. Throughout this process, my children and I spent three months in Arizona with their Grandparents, our family rented a house in Paso over Christmas and then we spent the duration of the process in a trailer that a sweet friend let us borrow and park outside our house. We enjoyed the adventure for the most part, but needless to say, we were ready to be back in our home and sleep in our own beds! Although there are still many things left to do, the sheer peace of knowing we are home is unreal.
After being home only two weeks, my two-year-old has done nothing but ask “Where’d da trailer go?” Which would be funny if my husband you know, hadn’t just poured blood sweat and tears into the project. Ahh…kids. I responded a little differently than my son if you can imagine. I was ready to be home. In fact, when they made the whole “Shelter at Home Measure,” I was like, “Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing. Yes. Let’s stay home!!!” (Obviously with a heavy heart for those who have undergone so much.)
I guess you could say this measure has caused a lot of uncertainty, fear and unrest. Understandably so with so many lives at stake and so many homes affected. That is why I felt it appropriate to write to my community, my dear friends and loved ones in a lighthearted manner, in hopes to ease the burden and bring a smile to your heart today in the midst of such devastation.
When trials and tribulations come our way, when uncertainty strikes the family, when loved ones are hurting, we must remember this important truth: sometimes fear is just what we need to run the right direction. Like a spark from the fireplace that causes our babies to run to our arms is a spark from heaven that causes us to run to Him. I found great encouragement from these words from the Bible and I hope you do too:
How abundant are the good things
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
on those who take refuge in you.
In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
Psalm 31:19-20Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
–Psalm 91:1-4
I hope as you read this and you practice sheltering at home with your families that you can see the vision beyond the four walls. The vision of being sheltered in Christ, not confined to a home and the opportunity and gift to spend time with our families as we’ve never had before. The opportunity to blow the dust off of our Bibles, read to our kids, play Monopoly and engage in camping out in the living room for movie nights with our littles. Yes, this is a terrible time. But we can take measures of our own to see the good things in the midst of all the bad. Who knows? Maybe it will draw our families closer together.
With that being said, I need to go. My one-year-old is bathing in maple syrup. Oh- and one last note…the whole cargo pants thing is getting exhausting. In the words of Elaine from Seinfeld…let’s be kind and “spare a square.”
