INTRODUCTION

I would like to begin this stream of thought with a confession that should likely go unadmitted but here it goes anyway: I have not enjoyed my time in quarantine. And if I am honest, I sort of thought I would…I thought maybe I would get some extended time of reading and once we got into somewhat of a routine I fully expected to find some level of comfort in what I thought would be a relatively short season of adapting in the midst of chaos. But here we are in week 8? 9? I don’t even know, but that time of reading or level of comfort I was hoping for, never came. I am so tired, incredibly uncomfortable, often overwhelmed, and riddled with the question, “Are we doing enough to serve and love our people right now?” This question has kept me from peace for most of these last 2 months and as I have spoken with a number of other pastors, they have shared with me that they have felt similar tensions in these times. While relating with other brothers who are in this role with me hasn’t necessarily brought enjoyment to quarantine, it is definitely nice to know that I am not alone in my discomfort.

My reason for confessing all of this was not to gain any sympathy from anyone that might read this because I know the struggle through these strange times is universal. And while it might come in different shapes and sizes, I know the anxieties, frustrations, and even fears are felt by everyone, so who am I to start whining about how these things are hitting me? No, I share this simply because one of the things that I have resolved to do, or rather not do, is forget this season or even these struggles. I don’t want to pretend that none of this ever happened. I don’t want to go back to when things were “normal.” I want to learn, grow, and get better for having lived in these particular moments. I want to remember.

A friend of mine, Pastor DJ, said it this way when he was addressing his church and introducing a series that they were going to be walking through together (oh, and don’t tell DJ that I quoted him because that will go straight to his head and I know he wouldn’t read this or admit to reading it even if he did haha), “These days are not a parenthesis. You will never get these days back.” I like that mentality a lot, but it definitely challenged me and probably challenges all of us. If these days are simply a waiting period to get back to the way things were before, then we will surely waste them. Whatever God wants to do with them we will miss it. All of it. And if I am honest, that scares me a whole lot more than the coronavirus ever could. 

So, I am setting out to refuse to forget all that I am learning in my time in quarantine and at first, I was just going to journal and write down thoughts as they came to me. This was ok, but as I started to do this, I realized that I have, in the past, forgotten so many things that I have journaled over the years. Often times I will write things down and then forget them in the next 10 minutes. Journals are so good for memorializing experiences and are beautiful reminders to go back to after some time has passed, but I am not so sure journaling will help me actively remember what I am currently learning. There’s no accountability. There’s no public commitment. Just thoughts scribbled down that I may or may not ever look at ever again. So instead, I decided that I would blog a little bit and share some of what I am learning with all of you in the hopes that it will help me to remember and apply some of what the Lord is teaching me in these days (and perhaps some of it could even be a little bit helpful to you). So, in the coming days you can look for (if you have any interest at all, otherwise don’t even worry about it…) a handful of articles entitled: Stuff I am Thinking about During the Pandemic, Stuff I am Sick of During the Pandemic, and Stuff I Don’t Want to Forget After the Pandemic. If you are interested at all, by all means, feel free to follow along and let’s walk together for a little bit through all of this craziness…