Yesterday marked 100 days of quarantine for our family.
100 days of staying safe at home, only leaving for our newborn's doctor appointments and an emergency trip to Lowe's when the basement flooded.
Other than that we've remained home, per doctors orders.
Some of these days have been easier than others. The days when we've all slept well and our schedule seems to flow seamlessly.
Others have been more challenging as we navigated new and big emotions, feeling the sadness of not being able to gather with family and friends or play with the neighborhood kids in the beautiful summer sunshine.
We've done our best navigating the uncertainty held in these days. We've tried to remind ourselves to live gently with each other as we're navigating new uncharted territory. And to make sure we're setting aside time each day for family time and fun.
Our daily adventures have included baseball and golf outings in the backyard, daily checks on the growing garden, and afternoon drives around the deck in our toddlers Cozy Coupe with Raffi blaring from the backseat speaker.
In the midst of these joyful moments, as laughter bursts from our bellies and smiles appear upon our faces, it feels easy to offer words of celebration, gratitude, and joy.
In the midst of the exhaustion, anxiety, and daily failures, however, some days it seems much harder to express our words, our prayers, our feelings.
So over these past 100 days, as we've sought to faithfully express our emotions with one another and to remember that God is with us through them all, we've had a daily practice of adding to our paper prayer chain.
Months ago now, our toddler began coloring on pieces of paper. Gathered at his toddler table, he drew.
He drew pictures of forts and his favorite animals.
He drew pictures of boat rides and the classmates from daycare that he missed.
He painted pictures of each family member we wished we could hug in person, and of his arms holding on tight to his new baby brother.
His drawings were expressions of the prayers we all felt deep inside.
In his squiggles and lines he brought life to the longing, lament, joy and celebration we carried within.
And so holding these words of celebration and lament we strung strips of those drawings together on our fireplace mantle.
There they would serve as a daily tangible sign of the many things with which we are holding. A reminder that even when our prayers are yet sighs too deep for words, these cries of celebration and challenge are all held in God's embrace.
So today, Dear Friends, amid prayers for health and family, for puppy dogs and ice cream cones, for doctors and nurses, sunshine and storybooks, we will add our toddlers newest prayer request, that we pray for "all the people".
So may you know that you are held in God's loving embrace. And even and especially when your prayers are yet sighs too deep for words, know that you are seen and heard by a God who draws near to you.
And as we hold you in prayer this day, may God's reminder to us all hold us close.
For we, Dear Friends, are never alone!