Chronicles of COVID - Chapter 6

                              "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."                    Hebrews 10:23

Dear Friends,

Have you ever read the book by Judith Viorist, entitled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?  That morning, gum stuck in Alexander’s hair signals the start of a disastrous day for the 11-year-old. One calamity follows another, but when Alexander tells his family about his misadventures, he finds little sympathy. Alexander begins to wonder if bad things happen only to him, but he soon learns that he's not alone when his mother, father, brother and sister all find themselves living through their own calamitous days.

As I have talked with friends and family, most of them have agreed that 2020 has been a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year. One calamity followed another and COVID-19 has raised havoc on our world.  But, in spite of these issues – I have learned:

• When life seems depleted . . . does God care?
• When I’m facing an onslaught of challenges . . . will God help?
• When life grows dark and stormy . . . will God be there?
• When I’m facing the fear of death, will He help me?

The answer to all these questions, is a resounding YES!
As of late, I have been studying the Gospel of John – one of the things that stands out to me in his writing is his perspective of Jesus being involved in the ordinary things of life.  God wants to be included in my stress of developing the plan for our therapists going back into schools and our outreach staff meeting one on one with students in our preventative and intervention programs.

The theme of Psalm 23 is that God always protects and provides. The psalm relies on an extended metaphor of God as a shepherd and the protector of his sheep (that means you and me!) As California enters into the RED tier – we can count on God being present with us and we should not fear.  Thank you for your continued support and prayers of City Impact as our staff daily demonstrates God’s love for our community.

Because of Him,
Betty Alvarez Ham
President

​P.S. This is my last Chapter of Chronicles of COVID – we shall continue to focus on our SHEPHERD!