“I am so tired of hearing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song,” my friend told me during the first week of quarantine and homeschooling. “My kids have been singing it repeatedly.”
“Oh, does one of your kids have a birthday this week?” I asked.
“No,” he replied. “But my kids know that we’re supposed to wash our hands for 20 seconds, or the time it takes to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice… and they’re taking that literally. They’re singing ‘Happy Birthday’ NON-STOP!”
Well, at least their hands were clean.
For the past several months, maybe you’ve been doing your own repeated renditions of “Happy Birthday.” Singing it out loud while putting your hands under the faucet. Humming it to yourself while lathering up the suds. Sounding it in your mind’s ear as you clean under your fingernails.
Maybe by now, you’re sick of “Happy Birthday,” too.
If that’s the case, maybe a substitute is in order. Sing through “Jesus Loves Me,” perhaps? Or “Amazing Grace”? Or if singing isn’t your thing… perhaps a prayer. This week, I came across these words of prayer, offered by Jewish writer Trisha Arlin. She writes:
As we wash our hands
We pray,
Blessed is the Soul of the Universe,
Breathing us in and breathing us out.
May our breaths continue
And our health and the health of all
Be preserved
In this time of sickness and fear of sickness.
Holy Wholeness,
We take as much responsibility for this as we can
By observing the obligation to wash our hands
Thoroughly:
For as long as it takes to say this prayer.
Amen.
We pray,
Blessed is the Soul of the Universe,
Breathing us in and breathing us out.
May our breaths continue
And our health and the health of all
Be preserved
In this time of sickness and fear of sickness.
Holy Wholeness,
We take as much responsibility for this as we can
By observing the obligation to wash our hands
Thoroughly:
For as long as it takes to say this prayer.
Amen.
Wash those hands, friends, and wash them again, and remember:
Our God is bigger than coronavirus.
Our vision is bigger than coronavirus, too.
We are people blessing people.
We are Wesley Church.
Blessings,
Pastor Candy
Want to know more?
- Learn about our church and its ministries: https://wesleychurch.com/
- Make a gift to support our mission: https://wesleychurch.com/giving-2/
- View our recent messages: https://wesleychurch.com/sermon-message-on-video/
- View previous devotionals: https://wesleychurch.com/pastor-candys-devotionals-2/
