Dialogue on the Circle of Hope covenant members Facebook page yesterday was so good, I thought I would repeat it here for those of you who did not see it.
It started with this plea:
In order to combat my anxiety I try to focus on what positives can come out of situations, but right now I’m having trouble doing that. So I’m turning to my community here to ask, what good, if any could come out of this?
People answered, “What good could come out of this?” Here are some answers:
It gives us opportunities to be radical
I thought our meeting last night was very special and it touched a lot of people. The New Testament is written as if the apocalypse is at hand, so this crisis is one for Christians and Christianity. It is a great opportunity to radicalize our faith.
It creates time to get to know one’s children and enjoy them
Granted we’re only on day 1 of official quarantine of my kids’ school (aka I might not feel this way for long ), but I have begun to change the way I think about my day with them. I’m often just trying to survive the day till they go to bed. Today we were all very engaged with each other. My hope is that continues and has long term effects.
yes, I actually enjoyed my kids sooo much today bc I didn’t have to hurry them anywhere. They could play or work on whatever project for as much time as they wanted. I also struggle with guilt about not being outside like all day every day and it’s a gift to let it go entirely.
It forces rest from all the usual noise and attempts to control things
I don’t know if this makes sense, but my anxiety has actually gotten better because there aren’t 8 million things going on all of the time to be stressed about. It’s kind of like the world has shrunk a bit, but not in a negative way…there just aren’t so many “things,” and it feels less noisy. I know where I need to be (work or home) and what I have to do, and that’s it. So for me, slowing down and having a chance to focus on doing what I have to do when I have to do it and that’s it is a relief. I have a weaker immune system so that concerns me, but I’m doing everything I should be, and that’s all I can do. I worry a lot about others and how everything is going to affect them financially and emotionally and obviously physically, but I am so far from able to control any of that that I just pray a lot, because it’s all I can do. After spending months trying to figure out and fix a million things, it’s almost a relief that there is no way for me to control or fix anything, other than to pray and do what is in front of me.
It gives us opportunities to share
It feels like an opportunity to practice loving our neighbors. I recall that proverb along the lines of “I asked God for patience and he gave me opportunities to be patient.”
Not that God is deliberating making people sick to teach us all a lesson, but I think he encourages us to reflect on the turmoil around us, to remember his love and practice it.
Instead of embracing scarcity mentality I want to be a good and generous steward. So thankful that I can give my resources to Circle and know they’ll be distributed to those in need! And I’m thankful for Cells, which are another way that I feel I can support my community.
On a more pragmatic level my husband and I have done a bunch of gardening and cleaned out our basement!
It reveals how many people care
I mean, the sheer number of people I’ve seen talking about and practicing social distancing is heartening. Aside from some super conservative “own the libs” types, many people are taking it seriously and it makes me happy to see how many people care and are willing to make sacrifices for the good of the whole.
It’s also depressing to see how many aren’t. But let’s just focus on the glass half full.
It forces us to pray
It’s forced monasticism. We all must learn to pray
Our responses encourage people where it counts
I am experiencing some deep peace right now from being a part of this church. All the emails, the texts, the phone calls, the posts, the blogs, the live streams, the share board, this group; it is life giving. Thank you. Thank you for not giving in to the isolation or the depression. Thank you everyone for being the real deal. Thank you Jesus for bringing us together.
Someone added this, too: