Welcome to our Be1 blog.
Updated: Aug 20, 2022
I’m glad you’re here. I am praying that you are blessed and encouraged by the writers we feature and the topics we choose.
I personally am not a writer. I’m a talker. I process emotions, events, challenges, stories, pretty much anything through talking. I married a man who is not a talker. He processes everything inside and then maybe he will share some of what he has processed – but maybe not. Do you see my dilemma? For the last 18 plus months we have been expected to deal with things we have never experienced before and to do it in our homes. Away from our friends and family. Away from the people that understand us and support us. While I know my husband loves me above all others and our marriage is strong and very loving, I have come to a great realization that I need people! I need lots of people! I need those people who have known me for many years and have been there with me through joy and heartache. I need new friends. They give me energy and fulfill my curiosity in learning about their lives. And I especially need my church friends. The ones that I serve with and I worship with. The ones that look to the Father for their strength. The ones that inspire me with their faithfulness and the ones that inspire me through their brokenness.
What I am trying to say is that through this pandemic one of the greatest gifts I have received is the reminder that we were made for community and that is why the church is so very important. I hated (and yes, that is a strong word) having to meet online. It was so cold and impersonal to me. I was thankful we at least had that resource, but I was chomping at the bit to get back to in person services.
I was so grateful to return, even if we had to wear masks and sit far apart. At least I could see and hear my brothers and sisters. Their presence was a balm to my soul.
I won’t ever take the privilege of meeting together on a Sunday morning for granted again. It can and has been taken away from us. I know there are Christians in other countries who are never allowed to meet together publicly as a church. They go to great lengths to do it in secret. They understand how important that time together is in strengthening their own faith and encouraging others to keep being faithful. I too, understand it in a greater and deeper way than ever before.
So, while the pandemic has been hard, heartbreaking, life-changing and never ending it has also taught me a lot. And I am thankful.
-Leisha Norwood
