​Times like these expose our weaknesses and I think our strengths and they reveal who we look to and in whom trust when great trials come. 
 
This past Saturday, March 28 the message of this blog was presented on a facebook live post as part our 516 Daily devotional at my church – Community Bible Church in Baton Rouge. My husband Ken and I sang together at the beginning and end of the video and Kathy Rumfellow joined us on the violin. If you would prefer to listen rather than read, you can find it on our Restore ministries facebook page. You will also find the video link  at the end of this blog.
For thoses of you who have already listened, I would ask that you consider using the prayer for our medical providers found below as a guide in the weeks ahead.

 I have been so grateful for the doctrinal series study I have been doing this week with my church. This week’s lesson was Who is Jesus. In these days of the Corona virus we need to be reminded of who Jesus is!
 
As I read one of the Scripture lessons from Isaiah 9:6-7, I was struck by how many times I have sung those words in choir pieces in church since I was a teenager. They are planted deep in my heart. Most of the songs are from my memories of Christmas music and that’s most often when we hear these verses read. 
But I find it so powerful for these days.
 
Read this beautiful description of Christ, the Messiah

This is such powerful truth!
 
There are so many Scriptures where we see the fullness of the character of Christ revealed – He is the Word, truth, light, Deliverer, Savior, the Hope of the world, the Son of God and yet because he lived on earth, he understands our humanity. He has compassion for our human struggles and the power to help usovercome them as we are face this pandemic.
 
As I’ve texted, emailed, and been on Facebook much more than usual with friends and family over the last two weeks, I’ve noticed that there is a common thread in our struggles, but we handle them differently. 
We all have a need. 
 
Those of us who struggle with anxiety feel our chests tighten and have trouble sleeping more than usual.
We need peace to invade our souls. Isaiah 9 tells us that in Christ we have the 
Prince of Peace.
 
Those of us who seem to thrive on the constant running and the doing may feel lost and useless in the sudden stillness. We may feel trapped in our homes as we are all faced with the struggle to find a new routine for our days.
 
We need a sense of purpose. Jesus has work for us to do in these days.
It may be to rest in His presence, to pray. He may give you an opportunity to share your faith.
In Christ we have a Wonderful Counselor, full of wisdom who can guide us. 
 
Those of us with family and friends far away wrestle with a longing in our hearts to physically touch and see that they are ok. That has certainly been my struggle as my oldest daughter, son-in – law and granddaughters live far from us in South Carolina and my youngest daughter in is the hot spot of the world right now, New York City. 
 
Maybe like me, you need to be reminded that although we are separated from one another we can never be separated from the love of God.
 
We need a comforter.  In Jesus we have the Good Shepherd of our souls.
 
Those of you who have lost income or retirement investments, or jobs may face fear of the future. I’ve heard that fear so many times as I’ve spoken with family and friends.
 
We need a provider. We need to believe that Jesus will supply what we truly need because He will. He sees the darkness that you face and He is the light to lead you through it.
 
Those of you with all the little ones suddenly at home wonder if you will find the strength and creativity to manage the schoolwork, the meals, the fun, the noise level. Maybe you feel inadequate or insecure as suddenly you’re challenged in so many areas of your life.
Or some of you have grown children home who haven’t lived with you for years. How do you manage that?
​ Or maybe you are lonely as you face isolation in your home for so many weeks.
 
You need to know there is a source of strength and creativity beyond yourself.
Isaiah 9 tells us one of the names of our Savior is Mighty God.
Surely the Creator of this beautiful universe in which we live and in whose image we are made can supply the creativity to survive and even thrive in these days.
And when you are weary or lonely,  remember His words of comfort...
 
 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NIV
 
I think all of us struggle some with fear of this disease that threatens us. We are fearful for those we know and love who suffer from it or face the danger of it in the medical field day after day.
We need a Healer and a Deliverer.
We need to look to Jesus who never changes even though the situation with this virus is constantly changing every day. 

That reality came home to me especially in the last days through conversations with my mom’s nurses. My mom is 91 and has severe Alzheimer’s disease and lives in a nursing home here in town. My sister and I typically visit her very often during the week, but now in this pandemic she can have no visitors and it’s been 19 days since I’ve been able to see her. About ten days ago we got a call that mom had developed a deep cough, fever and pneumonia and they were doing a test on her for corona virus. It was a very long 5 day wait for the results. During that time, we were checking with the nurses every day. But then one day I got a call from the nurse. I asked her if mom was fearful. She paused and then broke a little and said, “Yes, she is. She can’t understand or remember why she must be in isolation. She is flinging out at us and constantly tries to get out of her bed and then falls. This is not your mom, Kathy…it is the disease and we are trying to manage her pain." Mom had fallen a few weeks earlier and broken several ribs so the pain from such a deep cough had to be brutal.
 I told her that I had been praying for the nurses and aids caring for all the residents and asked if I could pray for her. She said yes and told me a little of her own struggle. Her mom was in a nursing home in much the same situation in another state and yet she was not able to be with her because she was caring for my mom in her job here. After we prayed, she said, “I knew I was supposed to call you. Now I have a sense of peace." It was such a sweet time.
 We finally received news that mom’s test came back negative. Praise the Lord and thank you for all of the prayers so many of you lifted up.
 I began sharing prayers with her by text and told her that I would ask others to pray for all the medical professionals during this uncertain, difficult time as we watch the news of health providers crying out for help and laboring to care for those stricken with this disease in our world. 
I wrote out the prayer below and sent it to her. Please consider joining with me in praying for the doctors, nurses, and medical providers. You may want to use the prayer below as a guide.

Prayer for our doctors, nurses and medical providers
Christ Our Healer and Savior
 
The brokenness and sickness in our world is staggering.
The hurting people, Your beloved, are lining the halls,
filling the hospital beds and waiting in long lines for drive thru testing,
in desperate need of supplies and quarantining
in our nursing homes and at home.
​ There is fear and worry and pain that is real and it is overwhelming.
 
Father we pray that you would cover them with your protection
and your grace. May their hands of service be an extension of your mercy.
Fill them with strength and compassion.
May they find their rest in You Father.
 
Lord, for those suffering from COVID-19,
the medical providers are the human face of compassion
when families and friends cannot come near.
Let their presence bring comfort and healing not only physically,
but emotionally as patients are frightened and suffering.
Give them a capacity to love and offer hope and fill them with wisdom
as they make decisions to provide the best care for patients. .
May their hands and minds be skilled and may they look to You
in these days as the Great Physician.
  
Please protect them from this contagious virus and provide the protective supplies that they need to minister healing and grace
without risk to their own health and protect their families.  

Lord, we ask that you by your mighty power
would stop the devastating spread of this virus.
May we turn our hearts and souls and look to you in this crisis.
Unite our hearts in prayer.
We ask for Your mercy to rain down on us Lord and we bless your Holy name.
In the powerful name of Jesus,
Amen
 
Psalm 103:2-4
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, 
who forgives all your iniquity, 
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. 

 If there is one thing that we have all learned it is that we are not in control. 
Aren’t you grateful that Jesus is never out of control? 
The child born to us, our Savior is the Everlasting Father,
and He is righteous and just. 
We need to find our rest in His presence so that we can hear His voice, trust in His sovereignty and know in the depths of our hearts that He reigns over it all and longs to bring us to a place of restoration. 
Jesus will hold us fast and secure – even the COVID 19 pandemic.
 
 There is a wonderful song of comfort called He will Hold Me Fast that is an old hymn written by Ada Habershon and put to new music by Matt Merker. It has become almost my anthem during the last few years as I have faced a lot of loss in the death of dear friends and family, my mother's loss of memory and a long season of personal illness. I find that I keep returning to it over and over and it has been on my heart in the last few weeks.
​
This is the Jesus who holds us –Son of God, Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. 
Will we choose to place our hope in Jesus, the anchor for our souls?
Will we surrender and believe that God has a purpose for us in this crisis?
 He will sustain us. He will hold us fast.

May the Savior in His mercy protect and sustain you and hold you fast
​during these days.
Kathy

You can listen to me sing this on the Restore Ministry facebook page. 
The song begins at 11:28 on the video.                              
Click Here:
https://www.facebook.com/516church/videos/1385739824946083/?t=0

Or you can listen this beautiful hymn performed by Keith and Kristyn Getty at the link below.

Also, in case you missed it in last weeks blog and are looking for some encouraging music during this time. I have created a Spotify playlist entitled God, our Hope to fill your souls with His truth as His melodies sing over you. My list has grown over the last few weeks to over 4 hours of music!
Here is the link. Just click the heart to follow and access.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0C7kryy1Xv0VfdIlVcTqeY?si=MBE8LSjMQk2cfTCY9b2KbQ

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In these days what will we do with our fears about the future, our confusion over conflicting stories in the media, our worries about our families, our stress about the financial security in these uncertain times? It is easy to live in the illusion that we are in control, and then we are suddenly faced with adversity, a job loss, an illness, or a virus that changes that landscape of our lives.

 If there is one thing that we have learned it is that we are not in control.
The good news is…We have a God who is! 
When we learn to let go of the illusions that we hold onto so tightly, we may discover  a deeper faith, a greater trust and find instead a deep encounter with Jesus 

What is your story? We all have one. Of course, it is changing daily as the coronavirus makes its way across our world and we try to find ways to stop it.
 
I have a daughter living in New York City and found myself canceling my trip that I had planned this weekend to celebrate her birthday. We had tickets to a Broadway show and several gatherings planned to celebrate.  I had been cooking all her favorite dishes to freeze and bring with me. I have not been for a visit in 2 ½ years. And then her teary phone call came with these words, “Mom, I just don’t think you should come. I don’t want you to take the risk with your history of respiratory issues and the city is changing every day.” And so….I canceled. I must respect her wishes, her discernment. As the week unfolded I saw she was right,  but my heart is there, and she still travels on the subway to her nanny job. Her other job has ceased. Her voice students are cancelling. My brave girl....  
 
My oldest daughter lives in Greenville, SC with her husband and two young daughters. They have finally just bought their first house. Her husband’s work depends on him going into the schools which have just been closed.The question lingers, how will this affect the income for this young family? Of course, the necessary closing of schools is affecting the nation in so many ways.
 
 My mom is in a nursing home with severe Alzheimer’s disease. Visitation is now not allowed for her protection. I was actually sitting with her rubbing her neck in the large gathering room with the residents when the announcement came on the TV that the Louisiana Nursing Home Association was recommending no visitors. With her facility now on lockdown. I am left to pray for her and her medical providers. If you find yourself in that position, below is a link to a wonderful prayer for Medical Providers that I have been using to guide me. You will find the link below.

My husband is a worship leader at our church. With the no mass gathering mandate, we are all making adjustments to determine the best way to minister to the body of Christ.
 
I have friends who have had major loss of income already as I'm sure many of you are experienceing or expecting.
​
 And so, what will be our response? 
​
 Well, unfortunately, I can tell you I have done a lot of stress eating!
All my favorites – cheese (Havarti with dill) and crackers, ice cream (Jamoca Almond Fudge is my favorite and Ken made a run for me), roasted pecans and peanut butter pretzels. So now you know some of my vices! Miraculously, I managed to resist my temptation to buy my favorite dark chocolate covered almonds in the grocery store yesterday. I almost caved in, but feared I would lose my place in the lines that were extending down the aisles at Trader Joes – a hidden blessing. I was also distracted by the women next to me who had lined her shopping cart with Bellini bottles! I wondered if she having a party? That didn't seem like a good idea.  Was she just totally stressed out about not being able to get toilet paper? That shelf was empty. I had already checked. Don't you wish you had stock in toilet paper?...and hand sanitizer and bottled water? I thought maybe she needed a hug but... keep your distance. As my mind continued to wander I perused the carts in line. Most were filled to the brim. In Louisiana, we are clearly in hurricane coronavirus mode. But several stood in these long lines with just a bouquet of flowers and I wondered... In my distraction, the line had moved forward and it was no longer a possibility to get my dark chocolate covered almonds!
 Ok, this really needs to stop! 

In a much more productive, life-giving way - I have also prayed and searched the Scriptures for direction and wonderful verses of hope. Truly we are in a time of testing, faith, and perseverance. In these days we will come to know the reality of  what or whom we truly trust. 

What could we do with this change in our routines? 

• It is an opportunity to be in earnest prayer for our leaders, those in the health care industry, those who are ill and isolated, the countries that have been so severely hit by the coronavirus, and those affected by loss of work.
• Perhaps families will actually sit down and have meals together rather than picking up fast food as they run from activity to activity. So light a candle and celebrate!
• It can be a time to get creative, to laugh and have fun with your family or a friend. 
• It could be an opportunity for meaningful conversations with those we love, those in isolation, and those who need Jesus. Look for opportunities for deep spiritual conversations that may arise in times like these.
• It can be a time to soak in the Word in personal study.
• This is a  time to sit with our Jesus and let Him calm our fears.

 He is our peace in the storm!
​He is our strength, our hope,
the One in whom we can place our trust.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast,
Because they trust in you. Isaiah 23:6

We must look for God at work within us and through us. As I write, I look out the window into my backyard and see the family of my backyard neighbors working in the yard together. I have never seen this!

• Instead of constantly scrolling through your media feeds, choose to take some time to read a great spiritual book or listen to wonderful teaching online if your church services are cancelled.
• You could listen to worship music that speaks of God’s truth, proclaims who Jesus is and helps you rest in Him and praise His name.

• Consider taking a long praise walk in the beauty of God’s creation.                       I took a break from writing this afternoon and took a walk in our garden. A year ago we planted a new rose on our arbor. It is called the Peggy Martin (Katrina) rose. This rose got it's name because after the waters receded during Katrina, Peggy Martin and her husband went back to their home, shrimp boat and garden of 450 roses that had been destroyed. Her parents perished in the storm. It seemed they had lost it all.  As they cleared the blackened debris from the flood waters she suddenly spotted a bit of green. Only one rose had survived and it has come to be called the plant of promise. Money from it's cuttings have been raised to restore gardens along the gulf coast. I have waited a year for this rose to bloom and show her glory. It survived the spring floods of last year in our garden that threated to wash her away and now she is a beautiful reminder of promise and hope!

• 
  
• I have put together a spotify playlist entitled God, our Hope to encourage you as you listen and sing along, or  if you are quarantined and can't get out maybe this will help you focus on who God is in the midst of this storm in our lives. You will find the link below.
• Make a list of some productive things you can do in your home if you are stuck there and do them. 
• Take a sabbath break - a rest from technology and focus on Christ. Do something that feels life-giving, fun, creative and restoring to you.
• Be kind, compassionate and prayerful. Be merciful, helpful, loving.
• Ask the Lord to help you to be a reflection of the character of Christ in all of your interactions.

This is a time when we must make our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. We must learn to rest secure in the Truth. There are so many unknowns to this battle. 
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Cor. 10:5
I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4
​
There is real loss in the everyday life to which most of us have grown accustomed. Many of you are having to make hard choices and changes in the way you live your life. Anxiety, fear and stress are real issues that many of us are facing. It is difficult to live in the midst of so much that is unknown. We must learn to take our fears, our illusions, our anxiety and our suffering to the One who can give us hope and can lead us and help us persevere. I have been reading through the book of James in the last two months. What a great preparation for these days of testing and trial! 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  James 1:2-4

 What we believe about God informs the way we live and the decisions we make.
When we cry out for Jesus, we cry out to the One who holds the answers to our questions because we are seeking the one thing needful. In the depths of our hearts we must know the character of God that alone will sustain us. 
 
When I find myself in a season of being overwhelmed, stressed or in the depths of pain or loss, I need to be reminded of who it is that satisfies the deep longings of my soul. There is a beautiful reading and song that has helped to carry and sustain me through some of the most difficult seasons of my life in the past. It is called Give Me Jesus.
Focusing on the character of Christ settles my heart and it will settle yours. 
 He is Sovereign.
He holds the answers to all our questions, our fears, our hopes and our dreams.
Our hearts desire must be for Jesus. Our greatest delight must be found in Him. 
​
Below is the link to the song and readings of Give Me Jesus that I offered in worship at the end of my teaching at our Restore Winter Gathering. The Readings come from the book Give Me Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz and the song is from Give Me Jesus by Fernando Ortego. I didn’t realize how timely these words would be for us in these days just a few weeks later.

Please listen below to these powerful words that proclaim the character, power and hope that we have in Jesus as Savior, Lord and King of Kings!
Link:  https://youtu.be/lg3t_nPHf98​
​
This song and reading is the cry of my heart. 
I pray it will be yours.
​Wash over us Lord Jesus and protect us in your mercy,
Cover us by your grace, and empower us to be vessels of your love.
In these days....Give Me Jesus!
Kathy

https://youtu.be/lg3t_nPHf98
Here are some of the resources mentioned above to help lead and encourage you in these days….

• God, our Hope spotify playlist includes over two hours of songs to help you focus your heart on Jesus and rest in the Sovereignty and goodness of our God as we face the uncertainty of these days. I pray that it will bless you. This list and other similar lists for worship can be found under marykathryndrake on spotify.

Just click the link, then like and follow the playlist to listen.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0C7kryy1Xv0VfdIlVcTqeY?si=wN2c0RMUTuSbxnm_tVKDvw

• The liturgy prayer for Medical Providers from Every Moment Holy by Douglas McKelvey at the link below or order this wonderful book of prayers from the rabbit room press.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59764bcb725e2575438613ad/t/5e6ac2d0b901d42ac2cdd964/1584054992915/Medical+Providers.pdf
​https://rabbitroom.com
Resources: Give Me Jesus by Anne Graham Lotz, Fernando Oretego, Images Pinterest

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:38-39

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