Quarantine and the Spirit of power, love and self-discipline

How is your spirit today? What were your first thoughts when you woke up this morning?

I am writing to you from my bedroom, which turned into my office I also share with my husband now. While I am typing these lines, I hear my daughter saying: "I don't get it." and my husband patiently explaining to her over and over again how to calculate. Suddenly, she screams: "Now I know!" For the last couple of minutes, she has been trying to teach her younger brother what she just understood. There is joy in this chaos as we all try to adjust to our new tasks and roles as parents, teachers, companions, friends.

There is also anxiety and fear rising. I find myself worrying about the future and thinking way too far ahead. I ask myself, how I can pastor you through this crisis so that it will strengthen our faith and our community.

One bible verse has been coming to my mind again and again. "For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline!" (1 Timothy 1,7)

A spirit of power and love and self-discipline. That’s quite a spirit. Let’s start with the spirit of self-discipline. How do you structure your day? How do you withstand the impulse “to just go outside and meet some people”. And most importantly: Do you rely on God? Or on toilet paper and canned food?

The spirit of love: How do you stay connected with your loved ones who don’t live with you. How do you stay connected with your congregation without seeing each other on a Sunday? How do you care for the marginalized, the unhoused, the unemployed neighbors and friends?

The spirit of power: Which powers do you rely on? Do you use your time to strengthen your relationship with God? Or do you try to find the last toilet paper in the city? Or are you as addicted to the News as I am right now? Checking your phone all the time, listening to the radio non-stop. As much as I have tried, I haven’t been able to calm down and relax yet mentally and spiritually. How about you?

If you long for some spiritual practice and just don’t know how to start, here is my adapted version of Martin Luther’s Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer for you. For easier print-out, I also attached the prayers.

God bless you!

Your Pr Tia!