June has usually been the month for celebrations! Weddings, Graduations, the finishing of another school year. Then looking to the onset of summer holidays, summer camps; the closing of certain programs – in order for a much needed break! Life, at a slower pace…Time to relax a little … to enjoy the sunshine, the beach, time with family and friends. God’s beautiful Creation to be enjoyed to the full!

But it’s very different this year. Weddings are still happening… but only a few can attend. Young people are still graduating, but celebrate this milestone virtually alone.  Commissioning in The Salvation Army is still taking place, but in a way never anticipated by anyone. And as for kids? School ended in March.

What about holidays? Where can anyone go? Camps have all been shut down. Programs ended long ago. And as for the pace of life itself, well, it goes from day, to day, to day … The reality is, everything has changed, drastically! Our existence is basically held in isolation. These are crazy, absurd times! Unlike anything we could ever have envisioned a few months ago… when everything was “normal”.

So what do we do with it all? How do we continue to cope? Many are struggling with raised anxiety levels. Some are battling depression. Others are barely hanging in there—knowing that this may go on for a very long time. A few are doing fairly well on the whole; but some of their family members are not good, at all. Their parents; their kids. And how can we help—when we’re, at times, barely hanging in there ourselves?

It comes down to our attitude, our inner spirit. Our outlook on life as it is right now. Do we trust God in these difficult days? Do we have faith to believe He will carry us through? Do we truly believe He loves us – and our family —enough to be with us, every step of this very strange journey?

I choose to be positive (even though some days, I’ll admit, are a little rough). I choose to see the sunshine, rather than the clouds that try to overcome. I choose to trust God implicitly with my life—when times are good, and also when times are rather shaky. I choose to have faith in the One who loves me more than I could ever begin to imagine.

And so I throw out this challenge: What do you choose to do, with the life that has been thrown at you in these very difficult days? Will you trust God with it all and put your faith completely in Him, knowing He loves you so passionately? May God grant us all His perfect peace—for today, and all the days that lie ahead.