(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Editor’s Note: June, 2020

By Sarah Komisky

For the past three months our world has been on pause. The stop has literally changed every aspect of life as we know it and forever will.

Coming out of quarantine, we are very much still on hold as we are still in a very real pandemic.

Paradoxically, the world also seems to be in turmoil. With the recent appalling and heinous social injustices that has transpired with George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, there are so many voices that cry out for answers.

When people are still sick. When anxiety, depression, and loneliness are still realities. When frustration is brewing. When varying opinions are bringing tension. When the existence of God is being questioned by some in the faith community, and when others feel like their faith is being challenged. When nothing seems to make sense. When  it seems like a huge task to rebuild again. When loss has become a lot to take in. When questions seem to pile up, how do we process it all?

Releasing an issue called “The Pause” seems almost like an oxymoron with this world backdrop. Honestly, it can even seem offensive. Pause? How can we with so many issues at hand? Isn’t it time to act?

Maybe. But maybe it is time to reflect before we act.

Ecclesiastes 3 says,

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:…a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

Verse 11 notes, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”

Pausing produces insight and beauty. We gain new strength and new grace. As Christ followers, it gives us time to spend with God. To get away and see the world as He sees it. To recalibrate enables us to act and speak with wisdom and to see beyond what is in front us right now.

While there is a lot to shake our emotions, we need to stay grounded in truth. We need peace to flood our hearts, minds, spirits, and bodies.

This issue is not providing answers. It’s providing reflections and real-life purposeful soul scripts on various word synonyms that highlight what it means to “pause.”

We’ve included our stories, our lessons learned, and observations holding onto the foundation of the Word of God as our anchor in an unsteady time.

Also, we’ve brought on two guests we’ve appreciated in the pause to share their journeys. One is showcase artist Jodi King, from Love and The Outcome, talking about her new book and what it means to rest in God. The other is musician and social media influencer Cade Thompson who will share his experience on how he navigated his career when life took a turn with COVID-19.

Through these articles, we hope they provide a much-needed pause in our minds and hearts when the world around you is spinning. Our prayer is that these articles center your heart towards God, inspire you to pause with Him, and cause you to seek wisdom to speak and act in the days ahead.

We also hope our voices can be ones that bring unity instead of division, as we move towards loving each other, which we believe is the greatest need at the moment.

Sarah