People of Great Faith
I look forward to our online Notgrass History team meetings each morning. I like seeing our team on the screen: John in his box, Titus in his, Josh in his (he’s been on his porch with the lilac bush behind him for the last two days), Mary Evelyn and Nate in theirs, Phil and Donna in theirs, and Ray and me in ours. Donna pointed out that if we had three more boxes, we would look like the Brady Bunch. First Ray asks someone to pray. Then we go around the “room” telling what is happening in our world, telling stories and jokes sometimes, making decisions sometimes, and encouraging each other to keep on keeping on.
We have had only one somber meeting since we all started sheltering at home on March 16. That was last Thursday when we found out about the first positive COVID-19 test in our county. My friend Manena had just texted the news to me, so not all of us had heard it yet. By the next day we had bounced back to our fun-loving selves.
I want to share the text Manena sent me that morning, because it reveals how special Ray and I think it is for us to get to live here. What she sent was the Facebook post our county mayor had posted the afternoon before. Here it is:
“I wanted to let the county know that we have our first positive test for COVID-19 this afternoon. While we knew this day would come, it is not a time to overreact. The post I sent this morning explains clearly what each of us needs to do. Again, I ask you to adhere to the “Safer-at-Home” order given by Governor Lee Monday afternoon and be safe. 2 Timothy 1:7-For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
It is wonderful to have a praying county mayor who quotes God’s Word to us in an announcement like that. We have not been able to record any Hometown History footage since January, but we got so much good footage before then that our videographer Titus is still able to pull together wonderful messages from what we already have. He thought a Hometown History video about faith would be perfect right now. We thought so, too. Here it is: People of Great Faith.
Praise God for the gift of peace in trying circumstances. That peace comes from “faith in our Savior above,” as Miss Katherine encouraged in this video.
Grace and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Titus 1:4
And speaking of leaders with faith, have you seen the end of the March 29 press conference the governor of Ohio gave about COVID-19? He told Ohioans, “May the Lord bless you and keep you” and then he showed a video of the Malone University choir singing it. You can view it here.
Malone University Choir sings “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26