Refuge

Psalm 18:2 New International Version

   The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

On Easter Sunday a family in Mississippi gathered to watch an online church service in their home in which they had moved into only a few weeks earlier. Outside their home the winds began to grow stronger. The father tracked the storm online and also on the radio he used as a firefighter. As the tornado approached, he could see the funnel cloud approaching his home so he gathered his family and rushed them into the concrete shelter which doubled as a closet in their home. When the family emerged from the shelter, they discovered that the shelter was the only part of their home that survived. The father shared the following words:

"The more I look at what is left of our house, it makes me think of the tomb Jesus Christ was in. We was in there Jesus protected us," he wrote on Facebook. "But after the storm was over the tomb was empty we came out alive just like Jesus did for you."

In recent weeks, many of us have been seeking shelter from the COVID-19 pandemic in the safety of our homes but what happens when a storm hits on top of a pandemic? In the case of the family from Mississippi, you seek refuge in the one place designed to withstand the storm.

During this pandemic I have felt as if the pandemic has occurred during my own personal storm. When you lose a child, the storms of grief come and go throughout your day. You learn to manage your way through the difficult moments and press on. Yet during this pandemic many of the options for managing the pain have either been disrupted or removed. 

In the past, I found comfort in community.

In the past, I found renewal in the sounds of congregational singing.

In the past, I found distraction in the world of sports,

In the past, I found purpose in teaching children.

In the past, I found escape from grief in activity.

In the past, I found peace with God.

Then the storm came. When the pandemic came, it forced each of us into isolation. Just as the winds of the tornado ripped through that Mississippi home, the reality of isolation ripped away the supports I had put in place to manage my grief. When the father in Mississippi saw the funnel cloud of destruction coming, he had to make a choice. Would he trust in the house that had previously provided safety or run to the refuge built for the storm. I too had to make a decision. How would I manage my grief? When the winds of grief swirl around me where would I seek refuge? Isolation ripped away everything in the past that I used to escape my grief except the one thing I only truly ever needed. Just as the storm shelter provided all the protection that the family of four needed in Mississippi, God provides all we need to survive the storm of grief. He is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. When everything else was torn away, I discovered that all I ever really ever needed was Him.