“But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him and she turned into a pillar of salt.”
-Genesis 19:26
One of my favorite things to do in this season of “COVIDtide” is to walk along the foot path of Monocacy Creek. It is a way for me to leave the fears, heartaches, emptiness and loneliness behind, and to focus on God’s love and the beautiful creations that God has given us to nurture and care for. I started taking pictures of wildflowers so that I could take the serenity with me. I found that each day the flower buds slowly changed into gorgeous flowers, and then they were gone.
I was saddened by their disappearance but soon noticed different flowers taking up the space. How amazing is this that the flowers continue to grow even if they change their “coats.” Then I realized the growth and death of flowers is life giving to other flowers that will continue to beautify God’s green earth. They will live on through other flowers and maybe even some almost like them.
I wonder why Lot’s wife decided to look back at Sodom, particularly since the angels who told Lot to leave Sodom quickly because God was tired of the peoples’ shenanigans (my interpretation) and warned him, “…Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley” (Gen. 19: 17). Did Lot’s wife knowingly take a chance that she would still be saved, was she checking to see if her daughters were coming, or did she long for the old life in Sodom? We cannot be sure. Most believe she loved her former way of life and longed to stay there. In her disobedience to God, who was already very angry, he turned her into a pillar of salt. Perhaps the salt is a metaphor linked to her lifestyle.
Today I ask that you walk along this messy “COVIDtide” path with me, with your eyes on God and your hearts open to his love and acceptance. Take in the beauty in his world and know that this is what we have to look forward to; we can’t go back because the “back” will also be changed. We can share what we are learning and what we are thankful for while finding joy and peace in discovering the new. Let’s walk together as nurturing servants of God.
-Karen Schaefer
After all:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
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