Ok so let me just throw this out there. I am 100% totally and completely over what covid has done to the lives of so many people. We’ve all been impacted by either the virus or the way it was handled. Some have tragically lost their lives due to complications of the illness. Others were slowed down for a time because they got it. Still others lost jobs, homes, loved ones, livelihoods, and the ability to just function in normal life.
I’ve heard so many times I want things to go back to normal. But do we really? I mean do we really want life to just magically snap back into place like a rubber band after being stretched. If we really just one day snap back to life as it was in 2019, what was the purpose of all of the struggle of 2020? If we just go back to the glory days of the past, then we essentially wasted what looks to be close to two years of our lives. No one wants to waste their life away!
So I want to encourage you to see this portion of life not simply as an interruption to your normal routine but as a disruption to the flow of how things were. An interruption is temporary and allows things to return to how they were previously. It’s like a blip on a radar then it’s gone. A disruption is a roadblock that forces us to take a different path. Sometimes a disruption can be negative but other times it can breathe new life into a situation.
Are there things about this whole new way of living that aren’t convenient or even good for that matter? Absolutely! Masks and distance are not how God created us. We were created to live in community. So much of communication is nonverbal and masks completely mess that up! I’ve had to repeat myself more times than I care to admit because someone can’t hear my clearly through a mask. Distance is not healthy either. Isolation easily leads to depression and can be deadly. The suicide rates are skyrocketing not just in our country but around the world.
I guess when we look at this way of living as an interruption we just want to get it over and go back to our comfort zone. But that’s just a tad selfish if you ask me. If our lives are more about what make us comfortable than what makes life better for others, then we have our priorities all screwed up.
But if we look at the past year or so as a disruption, we’re allowed to look back and learn form the past so that we can be more intentional moving forward. Intentional. That’s a power word. The focus of intentionality is that we live our lives with an intended purpose. Going back to the way things were means our purpose was already fulfilled, but that’s just not true. Living for the past gets us nowhere and it’s exhausting.
Do you find yourself more anxious, upset, tired or irritable than normal? Chances are you’re longing for the past. You’re trying to run down the up escalator. It’s exhausting to try to fight every day for something over which you have no control. Don’t give up. But change perspective. Be intentional about your day. Look at the person you are called to be. Chances are the disruptions of the past 12 months have very little impact on the person God created you to be. It’s time to pivot and make the necessary adjustments to serve those around you best.
In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins says that the greatest enemy of great is good. We settle for good all the time. Good isn’t bad. It’s good afterall. But is there something better than good waiting right around the corner? Is the good thing of yesterday that we want back, keeping us from the great thing we can experience tomorrow?
I’ve done a lot of thinking about this lately. As a pastor I look at what this disruption has brought about. I’ve met so many new people through this time that I never would have met had we not been in this mess. I’ve connected with new faces at church. I’ve had conversations with people at the gym that I’ve never talked to before. We’ve expanded our reach albeit virtually to many more than we ever would have. The way we were doing things before was good. I do miss seeing some of the people around church that we haven’t seen in months. And one day I hope they’re back again!
But I also see the countless opportunities that God has given me by making me slow down and spend more intentional time with family. Reorganize my calendar to better reflect my priorities. Value the expressions on people’s faces that I often took for granted. There are so many great things that I have learned through this pandemic by just changing perspective.
So while I want some things to change, I don’t want them to go back to normal because normal isn’t the life we’re supposed to life!