Faith Matters: SMASH!
A few months ago, I was at the grocery store. It wasn’t too long after they put in the plexiglass dividers in the checkout area. I had paid for my few items at the counter. As I was grabbing my bag and starting to walk away, out of the corner of my eye, I saw another customer walk up. Like a bird flying and smashing into a window, she lifted her groceries and smashed them into the plexi-glass. She sort of took a step backward and exclaimed, “whoa!” It was one moment where I was glad to be wearing a mask, because it covered the slight chuckle and smile that appeared on my face as I saw it all unfold.
And then, it happened again. I was at a restaurant picking up lunch. And as the employee intended to hand my credit card back to me, they smashed it into the plexi-glass. I’m sure this sort of thing happens all the time.
This image of smashing into plexi-glass is a sort of summary of the year 2020. We were all carrying along and then smash, along comes mid-March and our world came to a screeching stop as the pandemic came along. We’d make plans and look forward to something, but then…smash. They couldn’t happen. We’d shift our plans. Readjust. Smash. Then, we feel like we figure out how to move forward and smash. Changes of plans again.
It’s left many of us, at times anyway, like that person standing at the service counter. We are startled, surprised, stressed- out, exclaiming, “whoa! I wasn’t expecting that.” Smash moments of course aren’t just unique to a pandemic. Life is full of moments that leave us startled. Death steals people we love from us. Health scares, accidents, and new opportunities surprise us. Changes in jobs, families, and relationships stress us out.
No matter how many times we smash, I believe God’s grace is there. John 2: 16 reminds us, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Remember: Not even death could keep Jesus down. He died. But he rose again. That is the resurrection promise of Easter.
No matter how many times we get smashed down, God’s grace is there. God’s grace is keeps coming down to lift us up when we fall. God’s grace keeps coming down to give us courage to press on. God’s grace keeps coming down to free us from our fears and forgive us of our failures.
We may get knocked down. We may wonder how we will make it through. God’s power, however, is made perfect in weakness. Amidst the smash moments of this life, we have a Savior in Jesus Christ. He will not leave us or forsake us. He will lift us up and lead us through.