Time to Celebrate!


Can you believe it's September? I don't know about you, but it seems like I have lived a lifetime in just a few months.  I guess as a covid survivor, time feels different. 

This year came in with so much promise and excitement. On December 31st, people across the nation welcomed 2020. Some raised their glasses while we raised our praise.  We thanked God for letting us see another year.  We proclaimed blessings and declared, "This is my year for favor!" By March some had already loosened their grip on their blessings, and by May, they had given up altogether.  

I don't know where you are now. You may be feeling discouraged and even exhausted. Let me tell you this: you are not alone.  It's been a rough year! Whether you're ready for this year to be over or you feel your blessings slipping from your hand, I have an announcement for you.  Are you ready? 

You are a covid survivor!  How can I say that, not knowing if you have contracted the virus? 

Have you seen others suffer physically with labored breathing, fevers, and coughs?  Have you had to say goodbye to loved ones six feet from the comfort of another? Have you watched the church as you knew it change? Has your kitchen table become a classroom Monday through Friday and a sanctuary on Sunday? Have you learned to communicate behind a face covering? The fact that you are still here and still seeking God tells me that you are a survivor!

I know this year is not what you expected, but God is still on your side.  Your survival is proof that this is your year of favor! God has not left you.  Every day you open your eyes, God has given you his breath. Every day you get up and keep pushing. I celebrate your tenacity and determination. 

I encourage you today to declare your covid status as a survivor.  God has kept you through the trials of 2020 and he's not done. You have God's favor!

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.  It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.                                                          Lamentations 3:21-23


Reaching the lost at any cost, 

Pastor Odie Kennedy

Photo Credit: Fireworks by Stratman

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