What a “plot twist” since our last update! Who would have thought that the whole country - and world - would be facing a deadly virus? Or that daily life and normal routines for millions of people would grind to a halt? We certainly didn’t!

We thought we’d share how this unique circumstance has been impacting Life-Giving Wounds, in some difficult ways but also some unexpectedly helpful and beautiful ways.

First - the hard stuff

As is probably not surprising, the coronavirus pandemic has affected our ability to run retreats. In early March, the on-site team at New York University, where a retreat was planned for April 3-5, decided to cancel the retreat. A completely understandable decision, especially given the fact that New York has emerged as one of the major epicenters of infection. We hope to reschedule there for the Fall or next Spring.

Our next retreat after that one is in Silver Spring, MD, April 24-26. As of now the retreat has not been canceled, but it is certainly possible, especially given Maryland’s current rules against large group gatherings.

And only God knows about the later retreats in Summer and Fall! Jesus, we trust in you!

We have also not been scheduling any new retreats in the future, not knowing what is in store for the virus’s spread and its impact on our country. This is disappointing, as we would love to bring Life-Giving Wounds to new locations, but we believe it is the prudent approach at this time. Plus, local leaders understandably are hesitant to plan much into the future, not knowing how this all will shake out.

But - some hidden blessings

Not all is dire, though! The major “silver lining” of this challenging time is that Dan has been working from home since mid-February, when the John Paul II Shrine (where he works) closed to visitors and sent most of their staff home. He is involved in a number of neat projects from home, like webinars and other digital outreach. But, since he doesn’t have his normal long commute, and won’t be running any in-person events in the foreseeable future, he’ll naturally have some additional time to spend on Life-Giving Wounds. And we are going virtually nowhere in order to do our part in helping to #flattenthecurve. All that equals some free time!

So with the extra time, we’re making some great headway on 1) finishing the Leader’s Guide for how to start and run the Life-Giving Wounds ministry locally, and 2) filling out paperwork to become an official non-profit organization. Two important things that can be done from home! We hope to use our stay-at-home time to make some great progress on both those projects.

Another even more hidden blessing has to do with suffering. No mistaking that this is a time of much suffering, collectively as a nation/world, and individually in families and homes. Fear of the future, sickness, lack of resources, isolation from family and friends, strained finances, job loss….these are weighty times, which seem all the harder because they happened so suddenly.

But as we stress in our ministry, the places in life where we hurt, suffer, and experience pain can become incredible places of intimacy with our Lord. He is there in the hard parts. He is close to us in our pain. And what’s so beautiful is that all of our suffering can be transformed into prayer for others, into good works for others (knowing that they are suffering too), and into acts of redemptive love for our hurting world.

So we are doing our best not to “waste” this trying time, but instead to dive deep into the not-knowing, into our disappointment about the ways it’s impeding the growth of Life-Giving Wounds, into the daily and hourly challenges…and offer up our personal suffering in particular for adults from broken homes, and for the growth of Life-Giving Wounds (among many other intentions).

Check out our Facebook page for some reflections on how we can all turn our wounds into resources of love: for example by intentionally reaching out to neighbors who are elderly or more at-risk of coronavirus, or offering to pray for those we see on our (socially distanced) walks around neighborhoods.

So that’s it! Prayers and best wishes to all who have read this far! Look for ways to turn your daily sufferings into offerings of love! And please pray for us!

In Christ,

Dan and Bethany