August 2020
I fixed my shaver last week. The beard trimmer broke one morning – not that I have a beard – and wouldn’t close properly. It was uncomfortable to hold while shaving but I didn’t want to spend the money for a new one. So I found that the part was available on line, and watched a couple of videos to see how to take the shaver apart. The part arrived a few days later and now it looks and works like it did when I bought it. Success!
I also replaced the gate on our side yard. It had already been fixed a couple of times, but not all that well. I decided a more lasting effort was required. So I took that section of the fence apart, attached more substantial posts to support the gate, rebuilt the gate itself and put something of a trellis over it. Thyra and I painted it up and she was happy with how it turned out. So that was good!
These are just a couple of the things I have accomplished over the past couple of months. I have also repaired several sprinklers in our garden, taken any number of boxes to the Salvation Army Donation Center, and finally removed the speakers from our back patio that provided a platform for many bird nests over the years. The speakers were there when we bought the house fifteen years ago. We never used them. I often thought “I should get rid of those.” Finally, thanks to the coronavirus, I did!
What I mean by that is not that I finally had the time to do these projects. I am pretty well just as busy now as I ever was. But I got tired of looking at things I knew were wrong or broken – and which I could actually do something about! So I did them.
My ability to solve the pandemic is not like that. I believe in mask wearing, hand- washing, and keeping a safe distance from each other. But those are pretty well the only things I can do to help. And they don’t seem like much. The big picture is out of my hands, and I don’t like that.
I also really hate keeping a distance from this church family. It isn’t who we are at our best. I love worshiping with you, gathering together with new and long-time friends to sing, to pray, to listen for God’s leading and wisdom for our lives. I love caring for people in person, whether that is at the hospital or in your homes. So April and I are finding ways to visit in person. Sometimes that means getting together on the patio, or out in the Meditation Garden. Sometimes it means meeting somewhere else to walk, or at someone’s home to sit and talk, while keeping each other safe. We want to do what we can to encourage and support your lives and your faith.
I know I can’t fix everything, but I know that we are not powerless, either. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). As we find our way through this time of physical distance, let us not forget what we have going for us as gifts of God.
Grace and peace,
