Dear Friends and Family,

I love spring time in Hawai’i. The trade winds blow ever so softly, keeping us cool, not too hot nor cold. It rains every so often, just enough to keep our beautiful islands beautiful.

As I mentioned last week, we recently returned from a trip. One of the benefits of traveling is we get to come home. And upon each return, we are reminded of the many ways God has blessed those of us who call Hawai’i home, the weather, friends, food…

You can probably tell I’m in a reflective mood today. We begin by reflecting on the lifetime’s worth of anxiety experienced these past two years.

We had no idea what was to come when COVID first arrived in January 2020. The first case was a Washington State man who had traveled from Wuhan China, where it all began.

Just two months later, COVID became a reality in Hawai’i. Governor Ige locked the state down just as COVID claimed its first Hawai’i resident.

The rest of 2020 is best described as a blur of lockdowns and meeting size adjustments. But it didn’t really matter because safety was still our main concern.

December 2020 brought us hope as the first dose of the vaccine was administered in Hawai’i.

That hope quickly dissipated when 2021 turned into a roller coaster ride. The relief from getting vaccinated was short lived as the vaccine didn’t hold up against the variants that followed.

The first sign of closure came this past Wednesday when Governor Ige announced the state was ending its two year emergency response to COVID.

Unfortunately COVID was not the only source of anxiety these past two years.

In May and June of 2020, our nation was engulfed in protests over justice and inequality ignited by the police killing of George Floyd.

The divide between Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter consumed the nation and Washington.

Closure came a year later, in April 2021, when a Minneapolis jury found former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd.

There is one last angst I’ll share today.

In November 2020, we voted. Biden won. Trump disagreed.

Thus started the endless challenges to overturn the results in court, state legislatures and ballot counting centers. We just couldn’t get closure on who would be our next president.

Then on January 20, 2021, just two weeks after supporters of the president stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Joe Biden was inaugurated our 46th president.

Yes, these past two years have been wild. The levels of anxiety and whiplash-like swings in emotions were unhealthy – unless you were holding onto someOne.

If you haven’t stopped to reflect on your own experience over the past two years, I encourage you to find some quiet time and do so. 

Reflect on the good as well as the bad. Do as the psalmist did, “I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions.” Psalm 77:12 CSB

Take the time to assess your faith, your trust in God. Did He not keep us safe, secure, and blessed? Aren’t all good and perfect gifts from above? Do you see God’s handprints on the good things that happened?

As you reflect on life ask yourself, “Has anything changed?”

The world may have. But let’s not allow the world to change us, especially our faith in God.

Let’s never forget that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:8‬ ESV

Let’s remember to trust in the Lord during times like these for it says, “You keep him (that’s us) in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26:3-4‬ ESV

If you’re feeling unsettled about COVID or the latest concerns – Ukraine and inflation, allow Jesus to reassure you.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:25-27‬ ESV

Let’s be realistic, troubling times will always be with us. But we shall not fear because the Lord tells us, “do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭41:10‬ NIV

Many have tendencies to rely on themselves in times of turmoil. But this is what we say, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7 NIV

My friends, we who believe in and follow Jesus are blessed beyond our imagination. Regardless of the chaos that surrounds us, our God is the rock Who never changes. He is the One we can always rely on in times of need, Who has a plan for our lives, Who loves us more than we can ever comprehend.

And all He asks is that we fully trust and obey Him.

I leave you with this timeless promise. Dwell in this verse as you reflect on your faith this week. 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

In love always,