Constant change seems to be a consistent theme of this new Covid Era. Is it ironic that the only thing I can rely on is steady change?
There will be some new law, proposal or suggestion given by the government by the time I wake up tomorrow. Our local schools just announced they won’t be opening in the Fall and will be doing everything online; and sports are slowly coming back in a completely different format than before, (but at least they’re coming back!).
A glimpse into my life
My life isn’t any less confusing. I work at a local church where we have been running everything online. But we are starting to have heavily regulated, socially distanced events in person. I live with my dad, who is selling his house, which means I have been looking for a new house to buy. And of course, the housing market is crazy right now. Houses are selling at an incredibly rapid pace, making it hard to keep up. As soon as I see a place I like, I have to make an offer that same day in order to have any chance at buying it. I’m making the biggest purchase of my life and I don’t even have time to think about it.
I’m sure I’m not alone!
In other words, everything is up in the air all the time. I would gander a guess that there are so many people in similar situations, where every day seems like an adventure with new information to process and hard decisions to make. I am definitely glad I’m not the one having to make difficult decisions that will affect millions of people, such as those in the government or school system. It is hard enough to make decisions in my personal life.
Let’s give grace to those making decisions (including ourselves)
I wanted to give a perspective that is easily said, but is much harder to practice. Every once in a while, I think that I need a little bit of a reality check to what is actually happening in our world. For some reason 2020 decided to be ridiculous. Yes, this year has been crazy (an understatement for sure), and I know that I have made some stupid mistakes in the past 4 months. Whether that was because I was going stir crazy stuck in my house or because I lost money in the stock market, I still made a wrong choice or said something I shouldn’t have.
And when leaders (government, school, church, etc.), make decisions based on the information they are getting, in a situation that they have never been put in before, I think we should give them some grace. They most likely have some of the same personal issues that we all have, but they also have the weight of making decisions for lots of people. I believe they are trying their best, and even if you disagree with their decision, perhaps you can allow them to make a mistake or two and be glad it’s not you making the decision.
A different way to express our opinions
I am not saying that we should agree with them or that we should be quiet. We should make our opinions known, but maybe we can express those opinions in a different way than the culture does. Our culture and media have gotten really good at tearing apart the “other side”, and opinions that differ from their own. They love to tear down, but I wonder if we can do the opposite? Can we build up, can we love, can we respect each other through our differences?? Can we not blend into our culture? Can we create a new culture? It starts with one person or perhaps a group of people, (such as a church), who decide to give grace.
Jason LaLone was on staff at YWAM Brisbane and is currently in America working with Truro Anglican Church located in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about discipleship, taking Jesus’ command to make disciples a practical reality that he can live on a daily basis. He loves lasagna, cats and used to dislike Mondays, making him most like Garfield.
Jason LaLone’s previous articles might be viewed at: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/Jason-LaLone.html
