Dear, God,

This has been quite a week.  As restrictions began to loosen, there was a new sense of freedom.  The fear of contracting a disease had somewhat lessened, but still we were unsure about many things.

On Monday, a man was unjustly murdered by a police officer.  Immediately the streets filled with protesters and calls for action.  Within the next few days, thoughts about COVID19 were nothing but a vague memory,  Protests turned violent.  Members of hate groups arrived and torched our city, making it look like a war zone.  In less than a week our world had been turned upside down as National Guard troops were summoned to return order from the chaos.

The anger, hate, rage and misdirected thinking quickly spread to other parts of our nation.  Our young adults saw a broken system.  Our families retreated to their homes

in fear.  Our elderly remembered the 1960’s riots and the use of fire hoses and clubs to control the crowds.

Please, dear, Lord, our nation needs you now more than ever.  We thought we were under siege from an invisible enemy in the form of a bacteria.  Our clean hands and masked faces were nothing compared to the exposure of a familiar old enemy called hate.  It almost seems as though the end of life on this planet has been squashed.

I know this isn’t my final home.  I’m looking forward to heaven more and more each day.  Yet I know that until I take my final breath, I must remain strong in your Word. Help me to make sense of all this.  Give me strength to see that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.  Make me realize that there is so much to do right here within our own cities.  That can only be realized if we turn to you.

Look down on my city, my country, my world.  It was once a paradise and it will be again, when you return to us.  In the meantime, draw us to you once more.  May we put our faith in your direction, your goals for us and your love.  You alone can heal our land, but our minds must be opened and our biases be quelled.

I pray this in the name of your dear Son, Jesus, who took 1on the sin of the world so we could reap the benefits of heaven – our true home.  Amen