During this time of uncertainty and the unknown, responding with anxiety is only natural. As one of my good counseling friends recently mentioned, problems and tendencies that were present beforehand are magnified in a time of crisis, and we're seeing that observation in numerous ways, both at institutional and personal levels.

But I hope we'll also take the time to see what's right: hundreds of millions of Americans voluntarily staying home, thousands of hospital workers serving valiantly on the front lines of a pandemic war, churches moving online as virtual hands and feet of Jesus, businesses that are themselves struggling still offering to help those in need.

This is the country we love. The one that once honored the Lord, at least on a surface level.

The one that won world wars, sent men to the moon, and developed the greatest economy / higher ed / representative government system the world had ever seen.

The one that, while with its shares of struggles and mistakes, for the most part sought to build up other countries and people rather than tear them down.

The one that sent missionaries who spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth BEFORE we had any sense of modern technology.

The one where the major decisions rested not in Washington, but in church houses, school houses, and town council meetings.

The America we all love is still there. And it doesn't involve traveling back in time to the way things used to be. It simply means remembering our founding, liberating documents that all are created equal. That the great promise of the American dream is that you too can come from all over the world and have an opportunity to succeed.

Doesn't mean we're perfect. Doesn't mean we have it all together. But there's still something about this nation that hasn't been taken away: its people. And if we'll care for one another, and be our brother's (and sister's) keeper, whatever the future holds, our union can remain.

God bless this country. And may her people turn to thee.