In 2020, we were in the beginning throes of a worldwide pandemic. Things have changed since then. We’re more attuned to the necessary alterations to our lifestyles. We still wear masks in certain situations. We’re leery of government yet have become more reliant on them. We’ve separated ourselves because of the necessity of isolation, but we’ve also cut ourselves off from interaction and communication as they once were. Slowly, things are returning to the old normal, but we’ve created some very unusual rabbit holes for ourselves in the meantime.

SOME EXAMPLES: We communicate by text – often only a few words or emojis to express how we feel. We’re lacking face to face contact and are unable to read body language. We opt for online church services, because we’ve found it safer to stay at home, yet we long for fellowship with other believers. We assume the worst when we don’t hear from each other. We fall further and further into an abyss, with very little hope and a great deal of depression. Mental illness is at an all-time high and suicide rates are on the climb. We are suspicious, angry, frustrated, lonely and even frightened at times. The saddest part about all this, is that our younger generation has been relegated to the world of technology and have adopted it as their new normal, when there is a whole world of other things beyond the screen.

In Lewis Carroll’s story of “Alice in Wonderland,” we see an example of how the minds of the young can be easily transformed by the most unusual circumstances. My own personal opinion on the story, is that it is a tale of what it’s like to be an adolescent going through all the changes of puberty, but that’s a whole different post. Carrol had some insight into this dilemma of change. Here are a few quotes from the story.

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’

“If everybody minded their own business, the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.”

“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is ‘Who in the world am I?’ Ah, that’s the great puzzle!”

Sometimes we need to be shaken to the core, before we see our need for God. The wonderful thing about that, is that He’s always there to catch us if we fall – to encourage us to go on – to push us and shape us into a new person – to help us work up to our potential – to provide a way for us to overcome death and find eternal life – because He loves us so much. That is the truth we can ALL depend on, even when things around us are collapsing.