THINKING AHEAD: What will coming together look like when #stayathome ends?

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little nervous about what life is going to be like when these stay-at-home days finally end.

I’ll admit up front that this post is a very First World, American post. I’m not 100% comfortable with that, but it’s where I live and who I am, so today I’m going with it.

As I said my last time here with you, I do feel like we’re being given another chance; a chance to make some intentional course corrections; a chance to incorporate into our future the lessons we’re (hopefully) learning while staying home during these days of COVID-19.

• More appreciation for family time
• Healthier meals
• More organized—or less rigid—schedules, depending on which lesson we needed to learn.
• Satisfaction with less
• Appreciation of nature and the outdoors

Those are all wonderful and important, but let’s be honest:  they’re primarily focused on our own families. And many of our families have not (yet) been touched by the losses of this coronavirus.

But this invisible enemy that’s hamstrung medical systems, shut down global economies, and stolen lives? We’re going to feel its effects for a long time. I dare say none of us will be able to escape knowing someone who has (or will) experienced some type of loss because of COVID-19.

Years ago, I wrote a blog post entitled The Christian Woman I Will Never Be Again. What I Was Doing Wrong. In it I said,

Following Christ means having a faith that requires me to get my hands dirty when I walk out the church doors. To be willing to turn into reality the words of Scripture I say I believe. To be food for the hungry; clothes for the naked; home for the homeless, voice for the voiceless; freedom for the prisoner.

 

But dirty hands require a different perspective, and to view things from a different perspective, I have to change where I’m standing.

 

But I’ve been in this position for a long time, and it used to be comfortable… but now it’s not… and what does that mean?

I was wrong.

Sometimes to view things from a different perspective you just have to stay right where you are while the world as you know it morphs around you.

That’s where we find ourselves today, isn’t it? When we all finally come back together, things are going to be different. This virus has shown no mercy, and we all feel its effects. But if you (like I) have been fortunate enough to only feel a bit inconvenienced and “different” during this time, get ready!

Our neighbors are going to need us! I suspect we’re going to be getting our hands dirty—and our hearts stretched.

Scroll slowly and look at them . . . please. These are our neighbors.

Neighbors who have lost loved ones.

Neighbors who have lost jobs.

Families of all ages, stages, and economic realities facing hard times.

Children wondering how life as they knew it changed so drastically.

Students facing life-altering decisions:  to complete their education (often with student loans) OR to look for a job and help the family.

Neighbors still fortunate enough to have a job, but who feel the unprecedented stresses.

The doctors dealing with COVID-19 . . . or having to delay a patient’s much-needed (but not yet emergency) medical procedure

The financial professionals trying to help business owners avoid layoffs . . . or feed their families

The traveling professionals impacted by reduced travel options . . . and concerned that they may be exposed to the coronavirus while simply trying to do their job

The still-employed . . . already working hard to put food on the table before this economic shutdown

Neighbors whose pain is hidden behind closed doors—or deep inside. These are the ones most at risk during these days of social distancing and economic downturn. Loneliness, depression, spousal abuse, child abuse and neglect. They’re very, very real.

If I’m honest, I already feel a slight sense of dread.

I don’t want to walk into someone’s else’s pain, knowing I can’t do anything to fix it. It’s awkward and stressful.

But if we want to show people we truly care about them, creatively or otherwise, we have to be willing to put ourselves in situations that are awkward . . . because it’s in the middle of life’s most vulnerable times that people really need us. Sometimes they need nothing more than a phone call or a listening ear. They do not need us to fix anything. They do not even need our insight or opinion (unless they ask for it).

They especially do not need to sit alone and wonder what people are saying—or if anyone cares.

Is it awkward walking into another person’s vulnerable time? You bet it is! But it’s not about us. It’s about the other person—the one who needs to know they’re not alone when the floor drops out from under them or the roof caves in on top. When their entire world changes in the space of a heartbeat and “numb” is the only thing they can feel.

I guess we each have a big choice to make:

Are we in for the long haul—together? Yes or No?

I don’t know why bad things happen and good people suffer. I don’t know why God allows things like COVID-19. Sometimes choosing to “blindly trust” almost feels weak,  futile . . . until I remember that God has never failed to walk through the hard times with me. He leans into my pain even when I question him, just as he did with his own son, Jesus, as he hung on the cross.

The Hope and Truth of Easter lives, friends. Be strong—and when you’re weak, trust. Let this song renew your strength, as it does mine.

I’m linking this post to Grace & Truth at Lisa Notes.

Related posts:

Facing the week ahead . . . The Christian Woman I Will Never Be Again. What I Was Doing Wrong. THE FINALLY FARMHOUSE THAT WASN’T . . . When one adventure ends, another begins PUBLIC TRAGEDY: Day 25 of 31 Days of Creative Caring