Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune.

We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,Pioneers! O pioneers!

As we go to the places where we are called by God—sometimes gladly, sometimes reluctantly, always in anxiety—we are drawn into the newness of God's future.

do not think for one moment that there is any ready transfer from this narrative to our real-life crisis with the virus. The Bible does not often easily "apply." The Bible does, however, invite an open imagination that hopes for the best outcomes of serious scientific research. At the same time, it affirms that deeply inscrutable holy reality is in, with, under, and

the threat of life, so palpable among us, is a threat that can and will be countered by the Creator who continues the work of governance, order, and sustenance. Creation faith is the summons and invitation to trust the Subject of these verbs, even in the face of day-to-day, palpable incursions of chaos. The testimony of Israel pushes toward a verdict that the One embedded in these doxological statements can be trusted in the midst of any chaos, even that of exile and finally that of death.

When love's involved, there's got to be a way.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. ISAIAH 26:3 CHAPTER 1 Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania

Psalm 34:4, which she had committed to memory, popped into her mind: "I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Then she though of Psalm 37:5 "Commit thy way unto the LORD; turst also in him: and he shall bring it to pass." She'd found that passage in Grandma's Bible and had quoted it often as a reminder that she should trust the Lord in all things, while she committed her way unto him.

Many things in life aren't fair, but we must learn to accept them as God's will and move on.

She knew she needed to quit worrying, stop being so indecisive, and place the matter in God's hands. He knew what was best for her and the children. For now, the best thing she could do was pray and wait on Him to give her clear direction.

But a wide sea voyage severs us at once. It makes us conscious of being cast loose from the secure anchorage of settled life, and sent adrift upon a doubtful world. It interposes a gulf, not merely imaginary, but real, between us and our homes--a gulf, subject to tempest, and fear, and uncertainty, rendering distance palpable, and return precarious.

Good is not always God's will, but God's will is always good.