ramblin...with don davidson

Lots of time on my hands these days gives me plenty of time to think. Even late into the night various thoughts spew out onto the page of my journal, in no particular order--

My annual A Year in the Life column will be much briefer in late December 2020. No traveling, and every day very similar to the last-- or the next--all clumping together. Picking a favorite movie will be tougher, though....

President Trump says that he will be listening to Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx as he makes decisions about quarantine and distancing policies going forward. Good! He's right to go with the science instead of wishful thinking. "I want our life back again," the President said on Sunday. I suppose we are all grieving and praying for the same thing. It looks like it may be May or June before we see any return to normalcy.

... I've just about finished Netflix. Now enjoying concerts from favorite artists: Garth Brooks on PBS Sunday night, Dave Matthews and Ken Medema online from their living rooms. Good music is a tonic for the soul. That's how I watch Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show, too.

GRIM: Hospitals will be making some tough decisions in the days just ahead. Who is to live, and who will die? I can't quit thinking about a story I read in school a long time ago: The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson. It's about a small, rural village of 300 people that every year must stone to death one member of the community-- chosen by a lottery. I remember thinking as a teen, that will never happen.

....But I keep coming back to the soothing poem by Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things. (https://onbeing.org/poetry/the-peace-of-wild-things/)

Over 400 teens and adults “connected” with Bible Fellowship this past Sunday. And well over 1,000 watched some or all of the worship service online! It just shows how much we long to be together, how deep our relationship to other Christians really goes.

...Church sure does look different these days. That's because things have dramatically changed this month. We are being forced to do things differently. But that could be a blessing in disguise. We want to connect with people who do not attend any church and only now are beginning to think about spiritual things. We want to be approachable for these folks, and for them to be comfortable when they come to us...

...My job in the kitchen has always been to wash the dishes. That was fine in normal times, but now with three meals a day, these dishes are relentless.

Audrey and I walked over 4 miles yesterday. I guess that's still allowed. What a beautiful spring day it was! ...But people who keep on partying and crowding Virginia Beach have to be the most selfish and thoughtless folks on the planet. I wish that they would consider the healthcare workers who are daily risking their lives to keep the sick alive ...Our Deacons are leading in prayer online every day at noon, joining with Christians around the world. Join them in a moment of intercession for an end to this pandemic.

... ENCOURAGED: I am hearing from friends around the world, checking in, and checking on me.  Abi, in the UK, wrote me yesterday. She finishes every Sunday watching and worshipping with us online, and is so grateful for the blessing that our service is. She concluded her email this way: "I can't wait to get back to DC, and to come to FBCA, and give everyone there a hug."

Friends, family, and faith-- it seems clearer than ever that that's what it's really all about.

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