Chaplain’s Corner: Vol V

“Be Still and Know that He is God”

Earlier this spring, something remarkable happened in Punjab, one of the northern most districts of India.

The Sky Cleared!

And suddenly the snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas appeared. For many folks 30 years and younger, it was the first time they had seen the world’s most spectacular alpine landscape even though they live in its shadow.

Because of the stay-at-home orders and social restrictions prompted by the pandemic, the traffic on India’s infamously clogged highways had disappeared almost overnight. So did the smog.

In New Delhi, which is burdened by some of the world’s worst air pollution, airborne particles plunged by almost 71% in one week. As the yellow gray cloud dissipated local residents gasped. There were the tallest mountains in the world, the tops of which had been obscured for at least three decades.

All Because Everyone Chose to Stay Home.

It may seem that the COVID-19 crisis has stolen our spring here at Westminster and around the world. We’ve lost March Madness, family trips, graduations, visiting with family on Mother’s Day and of course haircuts. But it has also provided a priceless opportunity, something many of us struggle to experience: putting on the brakes in our busy times.

Good Things Happen When We Choose to Be Still

We spend all our hours and days in the presence of the Living God. But God is hard to see even here at Westminster Village when we are going a mile a minute. When the smog of distractions finally clears, it can be stunning to see the face of the One who has been there all along.

“Be Still and Know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10)

It may be the isolation and social restrictions are beginning to wear us down. But keep looking up. As our spiritual vistas clear, the view will be awesome!
Faithfully,

Chaplain Ron Naylor