The Weekly Clothesline - Fear not, I am where I was meant to be

Posted 7/2/21

As our world comes back to normal, I thought about the “people-watching” I did during all those months of the pandemic …

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The Weekly Clothesline - Fear not, I am where I was meant to be

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As our world comes back to normal, I thought about the “people-watching” I did during all those months of the pandemic. And I didn’t like what I saw. Faces told of fear and annoyance. I remember arguments about who was entitled to the last roll of toilet paper! What was God trying to teach us in that difficult time? And I remembered Joseph.

Joseph wasn’t his siblings’ favorite, and they took great pains to get rid of him. They throw him into a pit, and through a series of events, he ends up getting taken to Egypt and becomes very important in Pharaoh’s court. Many years later when Joseph’s family comes to Egypt for food during a famine, Joseph could have thrown his brothers in prison. Instead, he says, “Fear not, for I am where God meant me to be. All that you did to me… you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”

Did you know that “fear not” in some form appears 366 times in the Bible: once for each day of the year, including a leap year! Isn’t God amazing?! And when bad things, happen, only God can take lemons and make lemonade. Whatever trying situation we find ourselves in, there is always something to be learned. Take the time to look for the good, because there’s always hope. Be thankful. Take time each day with God, and I promise you… it will calm your fears and remind you who is in charge!

About the Weekly Clothesline:
When Covid prevented us from worshiping together on Sundays, I began thinking about ways to keep us together. Then, it occurred to me that the usual mid-week services in all denominations served to “prop us up” from Sunday to Sunday. The idea of “propping up” made me think of an old-fashioned clothesline and the stick we used to prop up the middle of the clothesline after we had hung all the clothes… designed to keep the clothes from landing on the ground. So it is with The Weekly Clothesline: to keep us propped up, from Sunday to Sunday, fresh and clean for the work God has for us to do.

About the author:

Previously the priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Lake Placid for 21 years, Rev. Elizabeth L. Nelson is now the Priest at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in LaBelle.

Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, LaBelle, clothesline

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