What Remains
February is the month when our thoughts turn to hearts and chocolate, dinners and movies and spending time with those we love. This year it seems to have a new and deeper meaning as we reflect on the events since last February. It is hard to comprehend that we are coming up on the one-year anniversary of the emergence of the coronavirus Covid 19. This unseen invader has caused so much change, challenge, and heartache over the last 12 months that it is not easy for us to look back.
There has been a lot of loss. Family events, life events, rights of passage have all happened without the usual gatherings and celebrations. Some loved ones are no longer with us and it appears that our world is forever changed. It is easy for us to get bogged down in the enormity of loss.
This month, I want to challenge you to concentrate on what remains. For me, that is faith, family, ministry, purpose, friends that have become closer than ever, and even a future. This list is not exhaustive, but it is a beginning. Your list may contain similar items, but it will also be different based on your experiences this last 12 months. However, I truly believe that we all can find some things that remain and may be even stronger than before.
I Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter and is often read at weddings and during the month of February. It gives an in-depth view of what true, Godly love looks like. I am not going to dwell on that definition right now, but I want to draw your attention to the very final words of the chapter. Following the detailed definition of love, the author reminds us “these things remain. Faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.” As you spend time in reflection today as yourself the question “what remains?” The answer will both challenge and inspire you.