Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
In my previous post I shared my first five observations of what we have learned from this last year of living with Covid 19. If you haven’t already read them, you may want to do that before continuing with the rest of the list. I hope that all ten observations will challenge and encourage you as the pandemic hopefully comes to an end. The following are the final five observations.
Observation 6: Most of us struggle with impatience.
In a time when immediate gratification seems like a deserved entitlement, we get offended when we’re forced to wait for anything. This reality has been in bold relief during the last year. The thought of waiting until it was safe to go to a restaurant, attend church, go to a sporting event and more was for many of us a monumental challenge. Some people were able to manage their impatience at least outwardly. They waited but resented every moment of it. Others couldn’t take it any longer and threw caution to the wind, because they wanted what they wanted, and they wanted it right then. However, learning to wait is a valuable skill. It increases our coping ability. And it reminds us that just because we think we deserve something now doesn’t mean that we actually do.
Observation 7: We don’t like living with uncertainty.
We humans like for things to be predictable. It gives us a sense that we are in control. So when uncertainty is introduced, we want to resolve it as quickly as possible, because we see no value in learning how to live in ambiguity. Therefore, when the virus started, we struggled with the changing rules about how to live safely. We didn’t like not knowing when schools, churches, and stores would reopen, if they would reopen and how they would reopen. At times, our resistance against uncertainty developed into anger and attempts to force matters to be certain before their time. This virus has simply reminded us that uncertainty abounds. While the quest for answers is valid, we will be better served by developing enduring trust than by attempts at anxious control.
Observation 8: We either adapt and thrive or resist and wither.
When challenging times come, we have a tendency to want to dig in our heals until things get back to normal. While that may work in short-term challenges, such an approach for more enduring challenges will leave us withering in the heat of the onslaught. So instead of resisting, we have the opportunity to adapt. I think of the rise of zooming. Certainly, there were techie people who knew about the online platform, but most of us had never even heard of having a Zoom meeting before the pandemic. Seemingly overnight, we saw businesses, schools, church classes and others that had to adapt in order to continuing functioning. So they learned how to Zoom or at least learned enough to cope. The point is that they adapted. Those who did, began to thrive. Those who resisted, began to slowly but surely wither. This will be true when the pandemic ends. Challenges will still come. And with the challenges will arrive the need to adapt. Learning to adapt opens the door to continued living.
Observation 9: Times of great stress reveal what we truly value.
If you want to know what’s really important to you, look at how you respond when you are going through a trial. During times of stress, we tend to let go of that which is less important to us in order to safeguard what we truly care about. What’s interesting about this is the fact that we sometimes find that what we thought was most important isn’t what’s most important. We’ve simply said that it was likely because that’s what was expected. As the things that we truly value come into view, we have an opportunity to evaluate them. If our values are worthy, we can better arrange our lives to keep those in the forefront. However, if our values are misplaced, we can make different choices to align our lives with what really matters.
Observation 10: Being the people of God isn’t limited by what we do in church buildings.
Although most believers recognize that the church isn’t a building, they still have a tendency to think that the entirety of their life with God revolves around activities that are held at church. So when those activities are interrupted, it feels like their spiritual vitality is at risk. This explains why churches reopened services at the same time health officials were telling them not to do it due to the danger of spreading the virus. Some churches who took the risk to reopen prematurely found out the hard way just how dangerous a choice it was as some of their members died who contracted the virus at church.
Sadly, it seems that we haven’t learned that our life with God is far more than what we do at church. While gathering as a community of believers is extremely important, it isn’t the end all, be all of our spiritual life. Prayer, Bible study, times of reflection, serving others and more can all take place outside of a church building. In fact, I wonder sometimes if much of our desire for gathering at church is more about meeting our social needs than it is nurturing our connection with God. Even if that isn’t the case, Covid 19 has shown us that our life with God can still be vibrant and growing even when we can’t be in a church building.