“Coronavirus.” “COVID-19.” “Everything going on right now.” No matter what you call it, the last couple months have, undoubtedly, drastically impacted the way you’re living life today. Maybe you’re an essential worker, still traveling to work every day, or maybe you’re working from home, spending more time on phone calls than ever before. Maybe you’re a parent, now learning how to also be a teacher. There’s not one person that hasn’t been challenged by this experience.
It’s my observation, or call it an opinion, if you want, that we’ve seen both the best and the worst in people over the last several weeks. On one hand, people have never been more aware of or concerned about the health and safety of others around them. I would guess that grandparents and the seniors in your community are receiving more check-ins from family and friends than they ever have. People are meeting their neighbors for the first time. There seems to be a “we’re all in this together” mindset taking over. On the other hand, we’re also experiencing and/or witnessing elevated levels of stress, anxiety and fear in ourselves, in our families, and in the people we encounter when we venture outside of our homes. Unfortunately, stress, anxiety and fear rarely produce good fruit. Instead, they produce impatience, judgments, anger..the list goes on.
As this shared human experience continues, and especially coming right off Holy Week, I’m reminded of the new command Jesus gives the disciples hours before he’s arrested. “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 NIV
“As I have loved you…,” Jesus says. With grace, with the understanding that our sinful human condition limits our ability to be all that God made us to be. That’s how Jesus loves us…a perfect, unconditional love, in spite of our failures, and that’s how he calls us to love one another. Now, more than ever, the people around us need to be loved with the love of Jesus, and shown so much grace. Practically, that looks like this:
Shoppers, be patient and kind as you make your way through the grocery store. It’s not the checker or the stocker’s fault that they’re out of a product. Store employees, be patient with the people frantically searching for something specific, or trying to get in and out as quickly as possible.
Parents, be kind to your child’s teacher while he or she creates brand new content to teach your students online without all the resources of their classroom. Teachers, be patient with your students’ parents that are learning how to be educators without the resources of your classroom.
Citizens, be respectful of your first responders, emergency workers, city officials and government as they set aside their own fears and concerns in order to best serve the community as a whole. Officials, first responders, and emergency personnel, act with patience and wisdom to reassure the people you serve.
Patients, recognize the stress and pressure your healthcare providers are under right now. Show your gratitude, now more than ever, for what they do and the fact that they often put themselves at risk, something most of us take for granted. Healthcare professionals, first of all, thank you! Secondly, be gentle with your patients, friends, family members, acquaintances, who are looking to you for answers and likely blowing up your phone outside of office hours.
Pastors and other church workers, acknowledge the fears and frustrations of your members with grace and understanding, as their church, where they turn to for comfort, strength and familiarity during times of struggle, is now less accessible when they need it most. Act with humility. Church members, know that the staff at your church is doing everything they can to continue doing ministry for you and alongside you. Offer grace when online service isn’t exactly what you’re used to.
Friends with deep concerns, don’t forget to talk to your friends and families about other things besides the virus. Friends not as fearful, offer a listening ear to your friends and family members that are scared and worried.
Y’all, no two people are experiencing this the same way, and yet we’re all experiencing the same things. Live with grace. Love one another.