Today, for the first time since March, I went back to church. It's been a long time coming, honestly. I've been keeping my distance for a number of reasons, but COVID being the main one. I had forgotten just how powerful it feels to be in a room of virtual strangers who all come together for the same purpose. For more reasons than I'd like to count I've been avoiding church. And for while, I was convinced it was the church we've been attending. But then the realization dawned on me that the problems I had with our church were problems I would probably have at any church. For reasons I won't get too involved with, I'd had some issues with the politics of church. And quite honestly, I had some issues with the attendees of church too. See, "The Church" is supposed to a be a place of non-political, non-judgemental sanctuary. What I saw following the COVID pandemic started out so strong, and then plummeted into a heap of failure.
When the pandemic first came to light here in Alabama, it was probably at its prime during the months of March-May. I know for me this is when I was furloughed from work, schools began closing, and the case numbers hit an all-time high. We had seen the news from bigger metropolitan areas but in our little corner of the world, so this is when things really started taking off. We shut down the city going into April and May and it seemed like the world had stopped. Only we knew it hadn't based on the case numbers coming from the news. I know for myself, I was home and furloughed, but Cody was considered essential and he continued to work through the height of the pandemic. It was a strange situation for all, and looking back I was glad to have slowed down and fortunate to not have been in the craziness of it all.
As we start to hit the last few months of the year, I'm looking back on 2020 and more glad than ever to see fall and winter months so I know the year is coming to an end. As a nation we've seen more violence, racial injustice, and downright hate highlighted more and more.
I've seen media defining 2020 as a "Write-Off Year," and for more reasons than one, I'm ready to press the reset button and start over in 2021. However, I would hate to think that this year has been lost on us.
I realize that this year has literally drug most of us through the mud. And while no one likes to remember when times were tough, isn't it in those moments when we see Jesus the most? James says in James 1:2 "Count it as PURE JOY, brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds". I'm kind of thinking he's a little crazy using the word "joy", but I will say that letting the past teach us, yeah, I'm totally behind that. Last week we remembered the 19th anniversary of September 11th, a horrific moment in our country. But we didn't count 2001 as a "Write-Off Year". We learned from it, we came together as a nation, and "The Church" came together and prayed for our world.
But for reasons I can't quite put my finger on, I'm not sure I can say the same about 2020. I know there were tons of national and local efforts being made to support and love on communities during the pandemic. And while I know there's a ton more to be done, I think between mask making, sanitation responses and local efforts to help small business (i.e. to-go food, contactless deliveries) we did at least give it a really good try on our part as a community. But it almost feels like 2020 isn't done giving us a lesson in humanity.
What I hope is left for this year, is a real lesson in being humble. What I hope we see more of, is people being the hands and feet of Jesus. Or at the very least, being a good neighbor. See, we're all called to serve. And in whatever way that looks like we all play a part in this world. And I know for many, especially in 2020, there's been some slack on everyone performing their role. While there's been TONS of efforts made by many, there's also a great number of who need to step up. And in these last few months of 2020 there's no better time than now. I'm including myself in this statement. It's time to fulfill our role in our communities. We need to come together like never before and teach ourselves that what makes us a community, is in fact our DIFFERENCES and GIFTS!
I'm hopeful that 2020 will end on a lighter note, heaven knows we could all use a break from the news feeding us all the damage of our broken world. But even more so, I hope we all strive to take on our roles as servants of our community. That in some way, small or large, we impact the people we surround ourselves with in a positive and loving way.
Comments