Safety: An Unexpected Idol

Claire Raabe 4 min read
Narnia

Safety has been on my mind lately – perhaps yours as well. At every turn, safety becomes one of the first criteria I use to make a decision. Should I go into this store? Should I spend time with this person? Should I go home and visit my family? Should I stop to get gas here or wait until I am closer to home? Should I lick this envelope to close it or use water? Should I shake hands with this person I am meeting the first time? Ridiculous as it sounds, these are real dialogues taking place in my brain lately. Decisions that were once completely subconscious in nature have become loaded ethical choices.  It is exhausting to have to look at everything, and most everyone, as a threat to my safety. But, as my brain shrewdly counters, it is prudent. It is wise to be careful. I need […]

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Be Still, My Soul, in this Pandemic

Jenny McCarty 3 min read

“Be still my soul”…easier said than done in this present time.  Worrying has been a daily presence in my mind–the health of my loved ones, the jobs of my family and friends, my own job, my students, the future in general, being completely isolated if I get the virus. How am I supposed to keep everyone safe from something I cannot see? My soul has not been still. I have been battling for a still soul. And yet, I have had a hymn on repeat in my mind this week, reminding me over and over again: be still my soul, the Lord is on my side. The stronghold I can have on the feeling of control in my life and the lives of those around me cannot be gripped when things fall apart. The words of this hymn are a reminder that when the things in this life seem completely […]

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Jesus is not surprised by our weakness

Claire Raabe 5 min read

“Without me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5 This simple line of scripture has felt relevant over, and over, and over again since March 16th.  Lacking Control – COVID-19 Edition Like most of you, my life has been put on hold, turned sideways, and restarted again on a much slower setting in the three weeks since COVID-19 became a growing reality across the world. My quarantine began a bit sooner than most, as out-of-state travel over spring break led me to make the decision to self-isolate before the shelter-in-place orders were widespread across my city, county, and state.  During the first week of this self-isolation, my mind was whirring with fear for myself, my family who I’d travelled with, my roommates who had also travelled over spring break, and our country at large. Every cough at the dinner table was met with widened eyes, multiple yawns in a row equated […]

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