Hello again, my friends! It’s tempting in this time of newspaper headlines, television news and internet warnings to consider writing about puppies and rainbows. You just can’t go wrong with those two things. But we are living in difficult times. And it wouldn’t be right not to confront it. But instead of talking about the bad, let’s talk about some of the good.

In New York City, volunteers are delivering needed supplies to the most vulnerable populations. I’ve heard stories of distilleries that are voluntarily switching to make sanitizer instead of booze and providing it to the public for free. How about all the construction companies that are offering their extra face masks so our medical personnel can be better protected? 

And while we’re speaking of them, let’s talk about our amazing medical personnel. As we’ve seen from around the world, medical staff are not exempt from this virus. In fact, their frequent contact with infected patients makes them very vulnerable. Someone mentioned that EMTs might be even more at risk, as when they enter a home on a call, they have no idea what they’re about to encounter. 

There are people who are intentionally doing the curbside pickup at their local restaurants or pre-purchasing gift certificates so that some of these small businesses can stay open. I’ve seen all over the internet how people are sewing washable face masks for places where there are shortages of them. Stores that are closing their brick-and-mortar facilities are continuing to pay their employees as long as they can. Some Internet providers are making their services available for free to students who now have to do distance learning. People who are now working from home are continuing to pay their daycare provider, as they know it’s the daycare provider’s only income. 

When I went to set up a phone tree at my church so that people can stay connected with one another, I had more volunteers to call people than I had need. We’re using messaging, video conferencing and e-mail not just to conduct our business, but to stay in touch with those that we know might be feeling shut in or lonely.

I’m amazed at how resilient the American people are showing themselves to be. But this is definitely a time for us to be seeking God. We’ve all used the excuse that we can’t be reading the Bible because we’re too busy. Or we can’t spend 10 or 20 minutes a day in prayer because we have to run the kids places. Well, folks, we’re not running as much now. Let’s take advantage of this time to reconnect with the One who is greater than all of us. 

Re-read the 23rd Psalm and see what it has to say to you today. What do those “still waters” and “valley of death” look like to you in the midst of a worldwide pandemic? We can all rebuild that foundation that we’ve been too busy to be tending to. And perhaps when this is all over — which it will be — we’ll come back with a new outlook on life. In the meantime, make good decisions, this pandemic affects us all.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Kelly Jahn is pastor of the Juda Zion and Oakley Union United Methodist Churches.