No Touch
Simply be still and think about Jesus as you listen to this song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f26P1ftbCco
This has been an emotional week as we've said "Farewell" to my husband's 96 year old father.
While my husband has been able to sit by his father's bedside and hold his hand, I have had to watch from outside an opened window, due to our governor's restrictions at nursing homes related to Covid-19. Fortunately, his room is on the back of the facility and I was able to stand there an weep in private. Monday, one of our favorite CNA's came out and extended her arms from a distance and said, "Boo, I just want to be able to hold you." It's heart wrenching the people who have had to die alone this past month and the family members who are grieving without being comforted and surrounded by friends and family.
On the other end of the spectrum a precious couple from our church had their son delivered by C-section this week and while they are rejoicing their is a longing by each of their parents to get to hold their new grandson, but that is not allowed. Babies change so quickly, I feel for the grandparents not able to hold these little ones.
This week I also watched my husband encounter a young man whom he had worked with several years ago. This young man came running up to embrace my husband, but my husband put out his hand to stop him. It was such a disconcerting sight. The young man took his fist and pounded on his chest, symbolizing his love for my husband.
My mind drifted back to years ago when I accompanied a young college girl on her first visit to a maximum security prison to see her mother. The security process was quite through including going into a dressing room and being searched. When we finally made it to the visiting area we were assigned to chairs and told not to cross a line on the floor. He mother was brought in and placed in a chair about 8 feet across from us. No, touching.
A powerful example of the impact of touch is found in Matthew 9:20 where the woman is healed. "And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment."
Jesus shared such an intimate time washing/touching the feet of the disciples before the Last Supper. I have been searching the scriptures to find the last time Mary got to hug her son, Jesus, before he was crucified. I can't imagine the pain she suffered as she watched him die on the cross those six hours.
God created us to be relational and He certainly created us to touch one another. This virus is another ploy of the enemy to distance humanity and weaken the going forth of the gospel. The Good News is...he doesn't win.
On this Easter Sunday, even when we can't gather together and exchange touch...we can be praying for the Holy Spirit to touch the life of someone who does not know Jesus and stir the heart of that person to welcome Him in!!!
