Living Fully – A Reflection

Our ability to live fully is being challenged and redefined during the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic. So much of what we took for granted has been thrown out the window. The new reality which we live in is far more restrictive than many of us have ever experienced.

We have a choice during these challenging times. We can either drown in sorrow, overwhelmed by the drastic changes in our way of life; or we can choose to seek the Spirit’s guidance as we make our way into this new reality. The question is this; how do we live fully in this new reality?

As Denise and I walk with our congregation through this new reality, our call is to offer hope as we seek to follow the Lord. When Moses chose Joshua as his successor, he also shared a promise with the people of the Exile before they entered the Promised Land. Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

I want to emphasize this part of Moses’s comments in my own slight paraphrase: Be strong and bold… it is the Lord your God who goes with you; God will not fail you or forsake you. During these challenging times we must remember that God is with us. Through the love, grace, and sustenance of God we will live fully, even in these demanding times.

Thomas Merton said the following in his book Thoughts in Solitude: If an [individual] is to live, [he/she] must be all alive, body, soul, mind, heart, spirit. (p. 30)

May we indeed live so boldly as the Spirit leads us. And may that grace and strength be with us as we walk forward together.