Shelter
in the Storm
This time in which we presently live has
been given various names: extraordinary,
historical, a storm. I prefer calling it
a storm.
This is my first thought to share today
during this storm: God loves us—always, regardless
of how much we’ve eaten or what our eating pattern has been or is. One day my neighbor said to me, “If anyone
would have gotten in my way as I walked to the cupboard or refrigerator
yesterday, I would have plowed her over.”
She’s not the first person I’ve heard say
food has been a comfort during this time.
I’ve found myself scrounging through my cupboards and refrigerator,
especially in the evening—Werther’s caramels, then turning to stand in front of
the counter, eating dry granola out of the bowl.
Why do we do this? The primary feelings driving me to food for
comfort in the evening are boredom and loneliness. I’m not much of a TV viewer, and sometimes
the lack of face-to-face interaction with others during this time has caused me
to feel lonely. As a friend said one day
on the phone, “Sometimes it [the solitude] gets to you.”
So some of us use food for comfort. Food gives me sensual pleasure—for a brief
time. But we tend to beat ourselves up
for it. Is that our human conditioning
to think that way? But surely God understands,
“Sometimes it gets to you.” When I read
Psalm 36:5-7, I am further convinced that the Holy One understands our human
fraility, for God loves us with an unfailing love: “Your
unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches
beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your
justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD. How
precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the
shadow of your wings.”
I
encourage us in these days, weeks, perhaps months to come to “find shelter in
the shadow of the Loving One’s wings.”
