{"id":973,"date":"2020-04-13T06:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T10:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/?p=973"},"modified":"2020-04-18T15:01:09","modified_gmt":"2020-04-18T19:01:09","slug":"he-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/?p=973","title":{"rendered":"He Lives!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today is Resurrection Sunday. Nothing \u2013not even the restrictions we are currently under that have been put into effect by our government leaders in response to the Corona virus \u2013 can separate us from God\u2019s love or from our love for each other. He lives!<\/em><\/strong> is indeed the exclamation of our hearts today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as I typed those words, there was a knock at the front door. Directly off the entry of our old but lovingly restored house is the front<\/em> room. It has become our \u201cIndia Room\u201d \u2013 a sort of parlor\/office decorated with furniture and accessories reminiscent of our beloved India in which God has given our family the privilege of ministering. This is my quiet space in which I write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past two weeks, while I have been secluded <\/em>at home, I have felt the need every morning to unlock the front door and open it wide to provide visual access to the outside through our full glass storm door. You could call it \u201cletting the sunshine in\u201d but it also somehow makes me feel more connected with the world. As the knocks became more persistent, I hurried to see who had come to call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a lovely surprise! Two handsome young men who live next door and also happen to be my grandsons, Ira (age 7) and Kylo (age 4), both grinning from ear to ear, were holding up their completed Sunday school crafts. I teach the ten youngest grandkids every Sunday \u2013 truly a high point of my week. To meet current government guidelines, we met outside today, practicing social distancing. I sat on the front steps and the children clustered on blankets spread on the front lawn in individual family groups. We usually do a craft in class, but today I sent the materials home in a plain brown paper bag and asked the kids to show me their projects after they completed them. Starting with a plain piece of paper on which are printed three pictures to color \u2013 the empty cross, the empty tomb, and a silhouette of Jesus with the scripture, \u201cI am the way, the truth and the life\u201d – by cutting and folding a certain way, you end up with a pyramid that succinctly displays the most important event in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ira and Kylo
(through the storm door)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Adara, Havilah and Mahri<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ellee Ruth, Isaac and Sophia<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Cruz and Selah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, I squealed with delight as I peered through the glass, my heart rejoicing as Ira and Kylo proudly held up their works of art. And because I am Grammy, I could not resist asking, \u201cWould you like a cookie?\u201d Two little heads bobbed up and down, so I washed my hands and – with napkins – retrieved two freshly baked oatmeal cookies from the kitchen and gingerly handed them out the barely open storm door (sort of like drive-thru). I resisted the urge to grab and hug them\u2026but I pray that soon I will be able to do that again. Yesterday, I was sitting on the front porch when Ira called to me from the driveway that separates our houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGram-gram!\u201d he always gets my attention when he calls me by the nick-name he coined for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, Ira,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMama told me that by the time it\u2019s my birthday, this Corona thing will be gone.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are praying for that,\u201d I answered, hopefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ira\u2019s birthday is in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sigh\u2026We are praying that God will grant knowledge and wisdom so a vaccine can be produced. We are praying that God will give knowledge and wisdom so our government leaders will make the right decisions, based on true facts, not theories and especially not politics. We are praying for health care workers that have been stretched beyond measure to provide care. We are praying for the sick and for the families of those who have lost loved ones. We are praying for the elderly in nursing homes who are not allowed visitors. We are praying that God will keep us all in His care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That includes you. Being a caregiver is always challenging\u2026even more so these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the years I took care of my dad, we experienced the terror attacks in New York; Arlington County, Virginia, and Stoneycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Those were terrible times and many people\u2019s lives were forever changed on September 11, 2001. I suppose we were all \u201cchanged,\u201d but outside of those specific areas, most people did not experience the dramatic effects on every-day life that the response to this pandemic has brought our way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am reminded of the words of a gospel song written by J. B. Coats and recorded by a variety of vocalists through the years: \u201cWhere can I go but to the Lord?\u201d  (See Psalm 25.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unerring answer to that rhetorical question is nowhere.<\/em> Oh, that each one of us – and those in charge of rendering leadership during this time – would see that\u2026and go to Him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is Resurrection Sunday. Nothing \u2013not even the restrictions we are currently under that have been put into effect by our government leaders in response to the Corona virus \u2013 can separate us from God\u2019s love or from our love for each other. He lives! is indeed the exclamation of our hearts today. Just as I typed those words, there was a knock at the front door. Directly off the entry of our old but lovingly restored house is the front room….<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=973"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":980,"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/973\/revisions\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/caregivertocaregiver.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}