Hello everyone!
Every parent with a car full of kids and luggage on board setting out for that distant holiday destination has heard the well-worn backseat question barely an hour into the trip, “Are we there yet?” I know I have.
I must admit to feeling that way as the COVID-19 restrictions and limitations have stretched us into another month: “Are we there yet?” Well, the simple answer is, “No. We’re not there yet.” But the reply many of us parents have given to the backseat question is the same one I give here: “Not long now!” And that’s true. We’ll soon arrive at the 4-month mark (or thereabouts) of the lockdown. Australian borders were closed to all non-residents on 20 March. Social distancing rules were imposed on 21 March and state governments started to close down "non-essential" services such as social gathering venues such as pubs, clubs and churches, but unlike many other countries did not include most business operations such as construction, manufacturing and many retail categories.
The number of new cases initially grew sharply, then levelled out at about 350 per day around 22 March, and started falling at the beginning of April to under 20 cases per day by the end of the month. As of 7 June 2020, 3 pm, 7,260 cases and 102 deaths had been reported in Australia, with the highest number of cases being in New South Wales, with 3,109.
So, we’re a long way into the trip. We’ve come a long way, but we’re not there yet. But, not long to go now, too. Wisely, the government (state and federal) are very carefully easing restrictions and things are beginning to return to some sense of normality, but some things will have forever changed for us all. Where public hygiene is concerned, that’s not a bad thing, in my view. Improvements in health and safety standards are always welcome – and, for the good of all, we all have to play our part. The “new normal” will be created person by person …
FINAL WORD
Sometimes I worry that I may seem to be nagging you! I assure you that is not my heart. Not at all. My heart is to encourage you, reassure you and remind you often of God’s faithfulness and unstinting love for all of us … and to spur you on to victory. To overcome in these chaotic times where evil seems to flourish.
The apostle Peter once said this. It is recorded in his second letter …
2 Peter 1:12-14 “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.”
I guess that is the spirit of many a “FINAL WORD” that I send you in these updates. I know you already know many of the things I write to you about … but, being concerned for you, especially when I cannot see your faces and know what is happening in your worlds, I think it is helpful and right to refresh your memory … while I have opportunity to do so.
And so, in the spirit of Saint Peter, I want to refresh your memories about how amazingly faithful is our mighty God. He will not leave us, nor forsake us, nor let us be overwhelmed by circumstances though they may sorely buffet us and test us at times. Our God is completely and utterly trustworthy – totally faithful, true and righteous in all His ways.
I want to refresh your memory about that, because it is easy to forget that when the winds blow hard and the waves rage high. The wind and the waves still know His name!
Be encouraged. Be hopeful. And remember the three Cs that I have incorporated into my personal day-to-day frame of thinking for this challenging season …
· Be proactive in CONNECTING (Hebrews 3:13)
· Be COURAGEOUS despite the circumstances (Joshua 1:9)
· Be CONFIDENT that our Lord has overcome the world. (Psalm 27:3) And so can we!
These are my three Cs. We’re not there yet …. but not long now.
I miss you all so much! I just want to bless you so much with everything I write …
You are loved so very, very much.
Ps Milton