Orphan Outreach

For the past couple years, I’ve developed the morning routine of heading to the gym for some cardio to jump start my brain.  The cardio is low impact (cycling, elliptical) which is all I can handle since a back injury sidelined me a few years ago.  I didn’t realize how much I was reliant on that habit until the gym was closed due to the coronavirus. 

What can I do now?  I can’t really run for 30 minutes quite yet.  So maybe I would just walk.  My son runs on a nearby track so I could go with him and just embrace the fact that I’m not a young buck anymore.  We’ve started the habit of heading to the track while it's still dark outside. One of the hidden blessings of walking in the morning is that I can experience the sunrise every single morning.  I don’t get the chance inside the four walls of a gym.  But outside, in nature, breathing fresh air, hearing the birds singing, and watching a beautiful, unique sunrise every single morning—that's something I don't want to take for granted.  

The majesty of this morning miracle, the consistency of the sunrise, the earth-wide impact and scale and scope dwarfs any of my concerns, worries and anxiety.  It puts COVID-19 into perspective.  

I was led to a few of my favorite passages:

• Psalms 121 – I lift my eyes to the mountains.  Where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, maker of heaven and earth. 
• Psalms 19 – The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of His hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 
• Luke 6 - Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
• Psalms 130 – I wait for the LORD more than watchmen wait for the morning.  Israel, put your hope in the LORD for with the LORD is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. 

All of these passages provide perspective.  They remind me of my place—and more importantly God’s place.  I was drawn to the life of the watchmen in ancient Israel.  No electricity.  No clocks or Apple watches.  Only the moon and the stars to guide you.  You are watching for threats.  Waiting and waiting.  Waiting and waiting.  But eventually you know what happens—the sun rises.  Every single day without fail, the sun rises. 

Yet God is even more trustworthy.  As I have faced this crisis, I’ve come back to that question – “Is God trustworthy?”

So the sunrise reminds me of the truth.  Yes, God is trustworthy.  He is more faithful than the sunrise. The master artist paints the skies for us.  If He can make the sun rise, if He holds the world in His hands, can He not also take care of me?  My family?  The orphaned and vulnerable children in Kenya, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Honduras, Russia, Latvia, and Ukraine?

So once again I whisper to my soul “Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”