The last several months have been a continuous exercise in adaptability for all of us. As we all now understand all too well, it is not an easy exercise. It continues to stretch and mold us in ways we can’t fully comprehend or appreciate in the now. Generally, change ebbs and flows like the tide, rising and falling with some level of predictability over time. Recently, it feels a lot more like a hurricane, sending a thirty foot swell over us, picking us up and swirling us all around in its uncontrollable currents. Hurricane “Rona” (COVID-19) continues to reach out and touch every aspect of our lives, forcing us to reshape and reform how we live and function as a society, time and again. It makes it extremely difficult to get one’s bearings and get life under control. We in a constant cycle of evaluating, adapting, and hopefully, overcoming.
Hurricane “Rona” (COVID-19) continues to reach out and touch every aspect of our lives, forcing us to reshape and reform how we live and function as a society, time and again.
Restaurants have been forced to rearrange furniture to accommodate new “social distancing” guidelines and have added new curbside pick-up options. Retail establishments have erected plexiglass shields to create a barrier between their customers and employees. Teachers and school administrators have been forced to reevaluate, and even reinvent, portions of the educational process. E-learning and online options have been created and refined in short order to prepare for possible shutdowns and to accommodate families that are at-risk or simply aren’t ready to risk exposure.
Churches and their leaders have felt the swell of change as well. From the outset, we at First Baptist Church have done our best to cooperate, as have most churches in our region. We suspended in-person gatherings in March and moved to an entirely online format. While it wasn’t ideal, we eventually found our stride and became comfortable singing and speaking to the cameras. When states began reopening after the quarantine, we followed the recommendations as closely as we could. It was unusual and somewhat awkward greeting people in masks, asking them to maintain six feet of personal space, and seating them every other row in the sanctuary. At that point masks were only required upon entry, not when seated. It was another adjustment, but it eventually began to feel normal-ish.
While I have often been one who is in favor of change and am often the one pushing it forward, our current reality has pushed me to my limits. In keeping with the recent executive order from the governor’s office, we have begun requiring participants to wear masks through the entirety of the service. As a preacher/speaker, I rely heavily on the responses of my listeners to inform my delivery. Being unable to see the facial expressions of listeners sitting before me has me shook, even questioning my ability as a communicator.
One recent message fell extremely flat. As I was processing what went wrong and what I needed to adjust to do better, it bothered me a little how easy it was for me to simply blame COVID. It forced me to ask some difficult questions of myself. 1.) Is the current reality actually having an adverse impact on the output of my life? 2.) Am I allowing the adverse reality to become an excuse for poor performance on my part? If I’m completely honest, I don’t know that the answer is necessarily a simple either/or, but a both/and.
We need to be diligent not to allow the inconvenience of our ever-changing circumstances to become an excuse for ineffective action.
Like it or not, COVID is part of our existence for the foreseeable future. It will continue to force us to evaluate, adapt, and overcome as we move into the future. It will be tempting at times to take the path of least resistance or to resign ourselves to ineffective results because of our less than ideal circumstances. As the saying goes, “The struggle is real.” We all have to decide if we are going to let the struggle stop us, or if we will continue to dig ever deeper to find the strength to confront our new challenges with boldness and courage, seeking to make the most of every opportunity.
In Ephesians 4:16, Paul tells Timothy to persevere in living the life he should in light of what he believes. He tells him doing so will make a difference in his life and the lives of those around him. I would argue this is a needed encouragement for us today. We need to bear up under the weight of our current reality. We need to acknowledge the challenges before us. We need to continue to adapt and adjust in light of obstacles and opportunities that come our way so that we can overcome and emerge better on the other side. We need to be diligent not to allow the inconvenience of our ever-changing circumstances to become an excuse for ineffective action. Because though it is difficult, life continues to move on, and we need to make sure we’re making the most of it.
