I posted an article the other day on Planning to Thrive. My family has been implementing that strategy in our home. We are breaking the day into blocks to give our life a sense of movement. We are varying the schedule, day to day, to avoid monotony. We are trying to figure out our flow, but already this isolation is hard.

On Tuesday our Govenort announced that people should be prepared for no in-person classes for the rest of the year. It did not go over well in our home.

It is only week one, and the weight of this extended isolation is just starting to sink in.

Our anchor right now has been family prayer. It is our constant, unchanging commitment right now.

Yesterday, as we gathered, I was all set to use the Gospel from the daily mass as our scripture selection for the day, but as we worship, I felt the Lord prompting me to go another direction. Romans 8:28 popped into my head, and I knew it was where God wanted us to focus our attention,

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Let that sink in. It is one of the most comforting and most challenging verses in the bible. Comforting, because in a trial, we can fall back and look to God's word, trusting that even in this, the Lord is working. But challenging, because in moments of pain, it is hard not to cry out to the Lord, "Where are you in this?"

So, I opened the bible to Romans 8:28. Ready to share it with my family. It is, however, my habit to never just pluck a verse out without first reading around to make sure I am true to the context. I looked up to verse twenty-four, and God spoke loudly,

Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

At that moment, God was speaking into the life of my family. We are called to hope. Hope is never for what we can see. If we can see it, it is not hope.

I think the Lord is calling to the Church right now, too. I think he is speaking loudly through this. All of our busyness has been stripped away. We can’t control this situation. We can't run from him. There is only so much social media, and Netflix a person can consume. Eventually, we have to stop. I think God has been waiting for us to stop. I believe He wants to be our hope, to be our comforter. I know, even in this, he is working for our good.

I can not see how this will all work out. But my hope is in the Lord.

Lord, you are faithful. Draw me close. Be the anchor of my life, the north star to guide us. Jesus, I trust in you. Please help me to trust in you.