There is an old joke about a Presbyterian pastor who was a strict believer in predestination. He believed that everything that happened to him, from the biggest blessing to the tiniest trouble, was already chosen for him before he was born. One day he tripped on the stairs and tumbled to the bottom. Picking himself up from the floor he said, “Well, I’m glad I got that out of the way.”

I’m not sure I can say that about getting COVID. I wish I had not gotten it, as do many of you who have suffered with it over the past two years. But there are some things for which I am glad. I’m glad I got it during this “milder” Omicron wave with the support of vaccines and not during the early days of the pandemic. I’m glad for the prayers and support you have given me and others in the church who are ill. I’m glad for the technology which allowed us to continue worshipping online when we had to take two weeks off from meeting in-person.

Most of all I am glad for the comfort and strength that the Lord provided. I have to admit that when I first tested positive I wondered if I would be one of those who reacted badly and wound up intubated in the hospital. I am grateful for the peace of Christ that calmed my worries and helped me through.

As we come back to in-person worship on February 6th let me encourage you to do your best to avoid COVID by following the standard precautions for social distancing, mask wearing and staying home when sick. But if you do get it, may you know the peace of Christ and know that we’ll be praying for you, too.

Pastor Mark