Remember the toilet paper crisis?

Do you remember the ridiculous toilet paper shortage at the beginning of the pandemic? People were hoarding rolls upon rolls of it. Stores were limiting how many packages each household could buy. It was crazy!

During the height of the hoarding, our church approached the manager of our local grocery store to see how we could help. He told us about the arguments and fighting in the isles, security having to intervene, and how older, weaker customers were often left out. In one sentence…

“When toilet paper shows up, people go nuts!”

Sadly, seniors and those with mobility issues got shoved aside or were simply too scared to enter the fray. Others that lacked consistent transportation couldn’t get there in time because it was sold out in minutes. All of these folks were left out because of a fear-induced frenzy over toilet paper! How should we respond to this kind of craziness?

Thankfully, in the frenzy, God often shows up and provides opportunities for us to help people in need. Sometimes He miraculously steps in, but most of the time, He calls us to serve, with the end goal of reaching them with the Gospel. And the toilet paper crisis was no different.

To get toilet paper to those who were being left out, we worked with the store manager to come up with an early morning, semi-covert operation. When the next transport truck arrived, our church was able to purchase a larger amount of toilet paper. We then distributed it through our church for free, to those who were being left out and left behind.

God was working through it all!

This strange initiative led to people watching and connecting with our church online. God provided a fairly simple project centred on toilet paper of all things, which was a true blessing to people and eased the frenzy and tension. In turn, it provided an opportunity to be a witness in the pandemic wilderness that we were walking through.

When we think back over the past two years, it’s like we were walking through a wilderness. We can get bogged down in a lot of negative memories. Which we shouldn’t ignore by the way; we definitely need to process through those. However, it’s also important to remember how God showed up in that wilderness season so that we can cling to God’s promise for the future.

Remember.

The word, “remember” is heavily emphasized throughout the book of Deuteronomy. A simple search in your Bible app will show that it appears over and over again in Moses’ final writings. Near the end of the book, after many specific remember statements, and as the Israelites leave their wilderness, God leads Moses to write one last all-encompassing remember statement.

“Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.” (Deuteronomy 32:7)

Why did God say, “remember” so much?

God knows the human heart, and He knows that the human mind is forgetful. Our memories are short on most things, and unfortunately, they’re even short when it comes to remembering God’s faithfulness and intervention.

As the People of Israel were a new generation, transitioning to a new land, under new leadership, with a new journey promised by God. He knows they’ll forget God’s provision and sustaining during the tough times of the past unless they remember by writing it down.

We need to remember the past.

The fact of the matter is that our memories are short as well. Like the Israelites, we often forget all of the amazing things God has done for us. We forget how God showed up in the tough times. God knows that too often, we forget how He guided us, provided for us, sustained us, cared for us, and loved us. We need to remember the past to keep reaching for God’s promise.

It’s essential that we acknowledge the pain of our pandemic wilderness experience; we’ll likely never forget it! However, it’s even more essential to acknowledge how God showed up during the past two years. He was faithful to your church, your family, and you as an individual, but maybe you’ve forgotten?

How did God show up in your wilderness?

How has God moved in your life during this wilderness season? How has God provided for you? How has he guided you? I’d like to give you an opportunity to reflect on some of God’s goodness and faithfulness during your wilderness season.

Here are a few fill-in-the-blanks for you to mentally work through. If you’re willing, drop one or two of these fill-in-the-blank statements in the comment box below.

• God provided ______________ when I _______________.
• God cared for ______________ when I _______________.
• God sustained ______________ when I _______________.
• God __________________________ while I walked through the wilderness.