Open the gates to all who are righteous;
Isaiah 26:2-4
allow the faithful to enter.
You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in you,
all whose thoughts are fixed on you!
Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.
So this is it for grace and peace! Not really, but Saturday is the last day of the second week in Advent, and tomorrow our focus will be shifting to two more words.
But for today, peace is a good place to sit for a while. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,” the scriptures say, adding “all whose thoughts are fixed on you…”
I like that extension of the idea, the fixing of our thoughts on God. It reminds me of how we have a part to play in securing our own peace, and the practical aspect of what one translation calls a mind stayed on God.
I like that phrasing, my mind stayed on God. A steadfast mind, reads another, a mind set on God. Also – and I really like this – those with imaginations consumed by you… and, Lord, you will give perfect peace to those who commit themselves to be faithful to you.
COVID sneaks in the back door – so “Poo!!”
My fight with peace today, my distraction from having my mind fixed on God or from steadfastness, is wrapped up in the inexorable series of dominoes that fell yesterday to land my household in a sticky COVID situation.
Person A – who we do not even know – gets COVID. Person B (who visits with Person A) also comes into my parents’ home – but before Person A tests positive. Then Person B tests positive too. Immediately, my parents get rapid tests. My dad turns out to be positive, but my mum is not (yet). And, because I work so closely with my dad, inevitably I tested positive too (and, yes, we’re all fully vaccinated).
We’re all okay, asymptomatic so far. But now we cannot have anyone come in to help with my dad for a while and it’s all, 100%, on me.
The right word for all of this, nicely summed up by my friend Kathy Drake, is “poo.”
This is why Advent peace is not as simple as something that happens to us. Advent peace must be something we pursue, we claim, we ask for, we take steps to receive.
This is where, also, the grace we have been considering this week becomes important too. Grace extended, grace received, grace lived out. Grace and Peace.
As I wrote in one of this week’s earlier posts, “Grace and Peace, y’all!“
– DEREK
don’t panic Derek, there is always a time when the plan has to change, or when we have to remain firm in ourselves. With so much energy being addressed to the material needs, it’s A TIME of divine revelation, amen, hang in there.
Absolutely. God is always teaching me something, if only I take care to listen….
cheers
Dear Derek, Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. May God help you to manage this situation with the grace and peace you are speaking of. With love Dorothea and John and Ruth and Jasmine and Elijah Sent from Mail for Windows From: Re-set: a life observedSent: 11 December 2021 15:26To: john.clements1939@gmail.comSubject: [New post] A little peace and grace to go with my Covid! derekmaul posted: " Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.Isaiah 26:2-4 "
We can feel the prayers. Thank you all!
But Rebekah, one Sunday, banged her hand on the lectern during her service and said “Covid is Deadly!” Yet, you’re still alive. I’m glad that you are, however, nobody needs to die.
Are you going to be silly and blame the unvaccinated for this?
What?
But, “Joe”, I actually blame the faulty Covid test for this! See later post – “False Positive” –
However, while we are talking about people who refuse the vaccine (and the misinformation they often base the decision on), they certainly do continue to contribute to a multitude of avoidable problems. Public health works best as a team sport.