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About this post: We want to stay connected! This blog post is part of a series of daily devotionals for this season. Read them, share them, and pray that they bring God's peace and love to our communities. To sign up to receive text notification of these posts, text zpc to 39970. We welcome your comments and questions each day.

About the author: Ann Gamble and her husband, Jim, have been members of the ZPC community for 33 years. Ann is a past deacon, sings in the choir, and is involved in Home Groups, Soul Sisters Bible study, and 2^nd Half Adventurers.

Today's Scripture: Psalm 136

Psalm 136 is a psalm of worship thanking God for all he has done for us and proclaiming him as our Redeemer, Shepherd, Conqueror, and Deliverer. But what struck me the most about this beautiful psalm are the words His faithful love endures forever which appear in each of the twenty-six verses.

In this time of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, isolation, and more, it is sometimes hard to remember that God loves us unconditionally and forever. We tend to dwell on the fact that we are not in control (well, actually we never were…), that this is not an easy fix, that we are inconvenienced with a “new normal,” and that life is not going as we had planned to say the least. But instead of focusing on these thoughts 24/7, let’s try to choose love as Jesus would have done. How can we do that in this time of isolation and social distancing? Actually, there are many things we can do without disobeying the travel ban: contact friends and family via email; text or face time; check in with a neighbor to see how they are doing and if they need anything; spend time in prayer and scripture; thank our pastors and staff as they strive to keep us connected; take a walk and pray for your neighbors as you pass their homes. Use your imagination. The list is endless!

I can’t help but feel this time in our lives will have a “silver lining.” Perhaps we will grow closer to God? Perhaps we will become more dependent on him? Perhaps we will learn to love others more freely? We do not know what God has in store for us, but you can bet God knows. God is faithful and will continue to love us every step of the way.

Following is a Prayer for a Pandemic that I received from a college friend. It is very appropriate and certainly puts this all in perspective for us.  We need to remember how blessed we are even during this crisis.

May we who are merely inconvenienced remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility of caring for our children when their schools close remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips remember those that have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country, let us choose love.
During this time when cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.
Amen

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