This is part of our series, Discipleship & the Coronavirus, featuring posts written by GABC members on what God is teaching them during the coronavirus pandemic.
You may read the entire series here.
by Amanda Chipman
So far, during the pandemic, I find myself grateful for God’s past, present, and future faithfulness and provision for my life. Life is both hard and good. In the midst of it all, He continues to provide all that I need, even if it’s not all that I want.
I’m working from home now which means my office, bedroom, living room, dining room, and gym are all the same room. I work at a job that is pushing me to use skills I’m not great at. The usual highlights of my job were getting out with pig farmers or helping with research in a barn, which are now put on hold until further notice. My co-worker, who seemed to make my job more sustainable, put in her two week’s notice and will be moving onto another job. Also, all connections with brothers and sisters in Christ have gone virtual.
I probably shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but in the midst of all this, I’m finding God is ever-present as I am physically isolated from all people. Each day He is giving me opportunities to trust and obey and learn what it means to be faithful where I’m at. I’m thankful for previous experiences with jogging “unplugged” so I can pray, having tons of Zoom calls at work over the past years, living and working almost entirely alone during grad school, walking through depression so I have some tools to guard against it, praying over the phone with long-distance friends, and watching God’s daily provision through a variety of hard circumstances and transitions.
Yes, working and living alone will be hard. Yes, separation from the regular rhythm of seeing the body of Christ in person will be hard. The new skills I need to learn to bridge the gap left by my co-worker will be hard, and the gap of a friendship that will be lost won’t be filled by simply gaining skills. Fighting depression could also be more of a challenge during this time. All that to say, so far, I have found God’s presence to be ever clear, His grace ever abundant, His word ever true, and His promises ever sweet which gives me great hope for today and the days to come. There’s no escaping the pain, brokenness, and difficulty that is to come, but He is here to walk through it with those who are His . . . and in that, I am ever hopeful and grateful.