Never Alone

By Kelly New

Trinity Theological College Student

Today is a special Sunday as it stands between Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday, marking the beginning of Lent. This Valentine’s Day was also the first since the Covid pandemic that saw people celebrating kinships and friendships without their masks on. Similarly, the 2023 Lent season would be the first mask-free Lent since the pandemic hit our shores. This would be the first Lent season in the New Normal and what does that mean for you?

For me, the mask has evolved from being a hassle to becoming my go-to in times of insecurity. I wear my mask in crowded places, I wear my mask in unfamiliar places and in times of awkwardness, I would wish I had my mask with me. That way, nobody could see how I truly felt. In times of embarrassment, I even thanked God for the mask that shielded me from shame. Have you felt the same? Do you now feel more restricted even though the restrictions have been lifted?

As we enter the Lent season of reflection, restoration and renewal, are we ready to recommit our lives to God and allow a revival of any dormant parts within us? To help us in this season, we have been equipped with guidebooks such as the Daily Devotions for Lent 2023 and I trust that today’s sermon entitled Witnessing Without Shame would also serve to inspire us to persevere in sharing the gospel. Yet, whether it is about living the faith in the new normal or in pre-pandemic times, sharing the gospel to our non-believing friends and family has never been easy. More often than not, we walk away from gatherings wondering if we have missed an opportunity to share, chiding ourselves for lacking faith and at times, we seek forgiveness for not being better witnesses for Christ.

In my first semester at Trinity Theological College, we were tasked to share the Christian faith with someone. As expected, I shared and given that you have not read my testimony in Soul Search, you can probably guess that my friend did not accept Christ. The second part of the assignment was then to write a reflection of the attempt. As we shared our evangelism experience with our classmates, Romans 1:12 came alive for me. Words of encouragement and affirmation flowed as we sought to help each other learn from our experiences. It was a much needed timely reminder that I am not alone on this journey. So if you are feeling like you are fighting this alone, at home, at school or at work, I pray that you will find comfort in the knowledge that we have each other.

Brother, sister, let me serve you; let me be as Christ to you;

pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.