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NABC Chaplain’s Corner BREAKTHROUGH: Problems Precede Progress Pastor Donnell Jones
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the NABC.
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BREAKTHROUGH: Problems Precede Progress
by Donnell Jones, Pastor, Grace Covenant Church DC
www . GraceCovDC . org
2020 is the year in history we will never forget . We will tell our children, grandchildren and generations to come this is the year few if anyone ever imagined . Think for just a moment if in the summer of 2019, someone told you next year there is going to be a global pandemic that will pretty much shut the world down! In the US alone, hundreds of thousands of people will die from a deadly virus . Everyone will have to stay in their homes except for emergency or essential reasons . When we get to go outside our homes, everyone will have to wash their hands continuously, wear a mask in public and maintain a minimum of 6ft physical distance . Zoom virtual connections and meetings will be the norm for everybody . Things like bottled water, toilet paper and paper towels will be in high demand and short supply . Oh, there’s more . There will be an outcry of racial injustice due to the senseless death of a black man followed by massive protests all over the world . There will be an economic fallout that will result in millions of Americans losing their jobs . There will be no collegiate or pro sports . Both High School and College students will miss their graduations . Weddings will be postponed or worse cancelled .
Like stop for a moment and think about all that . That’s not some movie or tv drama mini-series . That is actually what happened this year and you would not believe it except that we find ourselves living in what is so real and surreal at the same time . It’s so overwhelming . People are struggling with mental, emotional, physical and financial health. Fear has seized the hearts of so many people . When or how will this all end? In the face of so much despair and discouragement, we are not without hope . Every one of us knows what it is to experience personal trials and challenges . Hope views the situation as the prequel to Breakthrough . I don’t mean it in some cheesy kind of fictional movie kind of way. What I am saying is that we have in the biggest crises of our lifetime the biggest opportunity of our lifetime . The pressure we have all experienced globally, nationally and personally, unfortunately for many leads to breakdown . For those persons, we need to do our best to assist them in whatever way we can; a phone call, food, rent among other things . A little can make a difference especially since what the person receives in addition to the kindness you extend is a transfer of care . Someone caring for another in the midst of the struggle sustains them . On the other hand, Problems usually proceed progress!!! For others, this moment is about breakthrough . Some of the most challenging moments in our lives that nearly crushed us actually served to catapult us into an awareness, a focus and an intentionality with resolve and humility to live from a new perspective and a different vantage point . No one, me, you or anyone else wanted what 2020 has brought . But now that it’s here, now that we are in it, let’s embrace this moment in faith; the kind that says what intended to crush us and break us down will serve by the grace of God to catapult us toward BREAKING THROUGH to a version of us we have never seen .
Pastor Donnell Jones is pastor of Grace Covenant Church in Washington, D.C., Character Coach for the Maryland Terrapins and Chaplain of the NABC.
