The year 2020 brought about a totally unprecedented experience for humanity: a worldwide pandemic. Life as we knew it changed almost instantly. We found ourselves quarantining at home, wearing masks in public, and using large amounts of hand sanitizer and disinfectant. As the months dragged on and the search for a COVID-19 vaccine continued, social distancing began to feel like solitary confinement, the rising death toll from the virus made the future feel very uncertain, and the US Presidential campaign made us feel more divided than ever. Was there hope to be found? In Faith Greater Than Our Challenges, Rev. Tom Edmondson offers a message of hope based on the apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians and the writings of Viktor Frankl. Though separated by nearly two thousand years, both faced certain death--Paul in prison, Frankl in concentration camps. Despite such dire circumstances, each one in his own way affirmed that life--even under the most extreme difficulties--has meaning. More than this, both Viktor Frankl's and Paul the apostle's words of encouragement have the power to inspire hope and patience to us during this time of pandemic.
