As some states are beginning to open back up, many states are still either under stay-at-home orders, require reduced capacity for public gatherings, or mandate social distancing practices.

In the midst of this, many people have been missing their church family. Community is an essential part of the Christian life, and gathering on Sunday mornings for church is a natural way to build relationships. Add to that weekly small group Bible studies, accountability meetings, and hangouts that are no longer happening, and we have a community crisis on our hands.

I ran across a fantastic quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

This article appeared on The Light Breaks Through and has been published here with permission.

As you try to process all that is going on in our country, here are some thoughts. Do not let your opinion about the riots exploding around the country taint your opinion of what happened to George Floyd. Notice I called them riots and not protests.

Change is an adjustment. For many of us, this change came to us abruptly. I, for one, was on spring break during mid-March. I was happy to be on break and have a week to relax at home with my family. At the end of the week, however, I was told that I would not be returning to campus for in-person classes. As a senior about to graduate in May, I was devastated. Not only did I have to adjust to no longer seeing my classmates, my professors, or the organizations I have been a part of for all four years of my college career, but I also had to adjust to living with my family back at home, as I have been living on my own since the beginning of college.

It’s the National Day of Prayer. Today, people all over the country are going to be bowing their heads in prayer for the nation. We should always pray, but this year, our need for a Savior is highlighted, and the desire to pray for our world may be amplified. With everything going on, we see how broken our world is. We see that our answer for significance or safety is found in Christ. Today, on the National Day of Prayer, I invite you to participate—and invite others to participate as well—with these activities.

I thought motherhood would be different. I thought there would be snuggles and milestones and cheerleading. I thought I would meet new friends and nap when my children napped. I knew there would be sleepless nights, but I could make peace with sleep deprivation for all the wonderful trade-offs that were supposed to happen.

But it was hard—it is hard. And I don’t think we say how hard it is often enough. Motherhood is a complicated thing. I think we are afraid of offending our children, whom we value so highly. I think we all carry some pain around for those who long for children they do not get to hold. And I think we have traded in help and support for what we think is strength.

If you are anything like me, you are starting your days looking for your “marbles”—those elements of clear thinking, emotional steadiness, calm relational clarity, and clear purpose that normally anchor your mental well-being. Yet now we are socially separated with multiple barriers to our normal modes of communication and relationship maintenance.

Weeks ago, we could walk down the hall, respond to questions face-to-face with colleagues, and, importantly, use our social and emotional IQs to read one another’s responses to our communication. We could add a moment of “blowing off steam” or even “taking a breather” along with the actual business of sharing ideas and strategies. We were able to shake a hand, hug our children or grandchildren, share a meal, and worship together under the same shelter. Not now. We’re experiencing isolation.

Ultimately, all of Christianity hinges on the truth of the resurrection. There is compelling evidence for the existence of a good God who has been made known to us in Jesus. But all of our faith—including Jesus proving He is indeed the Christ—is grounded in the truth of the resurrection. As the apostle Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14). There is nothing to believe about Jesus if He did not rise from the dead. As we round out the reasons for the hope we have in Jesus, it’s most appropriate to examine the resurrection.

Today, I competed in a noon ping-pong tournament in my pajamas while eating leftover pizza. I went on walks with three of my four kids. I ran the dishwasher twice. Our day also included Zoom Wars—the dreaded competitions when more than one kid has an online meeting.

Like you, COVID-19 has brought a weird new normal to our home. It’s also brought lots of idle time—and bored kids are fighting kids. I just broke up an argument that was headed for a Cain and Abel situation over the remote.