Silver Light

The greatest blessing to me about my work is serving people who are in extreme poverty together with local churches. Poverty is often a main reason why people skip important time with God, because they are trying hard to fulfill their family’s needs. It is something great when I see hopeless people being empowered to reach their potential.

Recently, people have also had to survive amid a pandemic. The current pandemic has a deep impact on everyone at this time, and people have lost their jobs and their income. Consequently, many children will experience nutritional problems, lack of health services, and domestic violence. Another challenge is that many parents are unprepared for educating their children at home while having to work. It takes extra energy and the help of the Holy Spirit to make things work well in these new conditions. It has become important to spend time through virtual communication with family and church, and this gives many people motivation to stay and hope in God in all conditions. God cares for every child who cries out to God.

As a servant of God, I ponder my steps before conducting an intervention. When I was walking in the middle of the forest and open nature, I was reminded of the great power of God. The conditions occurring during the COVID-19 pandemic have changed a lot of things, such as how we worship, work, raise children, and build relationships with others; and we may not even be ready. It is a struggle to accept these changes so rapidly, and our eyes cannot see God’s plan in this life. It is as if we are walking between shady trees, and the leaves have covered our view of the sun. But rest assured, in every crack of the leaves, the sunlight still penetrates to the ground and we can still feel the warmth of the light. Seeing the huge and beautiful nature that God has created proves and reminds me of God’s love for us, God’s children.

The pandemic has made us worry about what will happen in the next day and how to deal with what comes. But we must believe that even in hard situations, we can live with God. God reminds us in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (NRSV).

Sometimes we can’t understand the meaning of events that happen in our lives. It may seem like we have no way out or we can’t imagine the end of a situation, so we feel worried and afraid. But we just need to remember that God is always present in every season of our lives. As the word of God reminds us in Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift my eyes up to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Various aspects of life have changed during this pandemic, but let us remain sure and believe that there is always a light of hope for every child of God.