We are currently living a crisis.
It is described as, “an outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus that was first detected in many locations internationally, including in the United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019” (abbreviated “COVID-19”).[1] COVID-19 is spread through contact and has quickly spread throughout the world even to my hometown of Rock Port, MO. The number of casualties changes daily, so I won’t bore you with the numbers, but it’s safe to say we are in the middle of a pandemic.
Of course, there are some that blatantly dismiss the crisis or describe it as something spiritual or brand it a conspiracy. For me, the most prudent thing I can do is reflect on being isolated for almost a month and see if I can find something useful in my social distancing experience. Most of the people that dismissed this pandemic have been slowly arising from their slumber. I’ve been trying to time my naps just right so that I can sleep through the night and not feel like a failure because I didn’t do anything today. I’m not exaggerating.
I don’t know about you, but normally people like me have a coping strategy we like to employ. When something unique happens, we try to normalize or minimalize it. If I can somehow tie what is happing to something that happened in the past or if I can make it seem smaller in my mind than it actually is, then it won’t be as scary or I won’t have to make any changes in my life to adjust to the changes that are impending. Even though I like adventure, I like planned adventures and what I am discovering is that this is a living contradiction or maybe even an oxymoron. And, to make it worse, Dr. Mary Jeppsen states the following:
“There have never been times like these…this is unprecedented”[2]
The situation we find ourselves is indeed like nothing most of us have ever seen or experienced in our lifetime. I have very few reference points for dealing with this crisis, so as I experience my part in this pandemic let me just state a few guidelines that I am building from.
Primarily, I am realizing it is okay not to be okay and it is okay to feel what I feel. Any time we shame ourselves or others for feeling what we feel, we just create many more problems and we have enough challenges to deal with. We do not need to add guilt or shame or more despair to the equation. I also relate to you what my friend Dr. Paul Fitzgerald say,
“Don’t waste a good crisis.”
So, what should we do? Maybe it is not as much about doing as it is about being!
Be where you are
Mrs. Beaty is one of the teachers I remember from private school. I remember her as kind and compassionate. She was probably patient also if she had to deal with me in those days. When I picture a classroom in my mind, it is always hers. Back then, teachers took roll. They would call out your name and you could either say “here” or “present.” Both responses meant the same thing – you were in the seat that was assigned to you. The word present didn’t mean what we now commonly refer to as at least some form of awareness and somewhat of a single-focus on something particular.
Jesus seemed to have this presence. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t think he necessarily was always impressive, but I do believe he was always present. As a boy, when he was in the temple, he was fully present with the teachers and did not realize that the caravan for home had already left. He was fully engaged with what was most important and not distracted by other people’s agenda for him. When he was in the boat, he was fully engaged in the task at hand even when the task was taking a nap. When he was in the garden, he was in garden and not a million miles away. When he went away to pray, he was fully present in prayer and not reliving the past or dreading the future.
Over the past 18 months, I have been doing some simple, physical work. People often ask me, “So, what’s the plan?” By this, I think they are struggling to see me as doing this physical work for anything more than a temporary stint. I have been an office worker for much of my adult life. The story of the last few years takes a long time to delineate and where I think this might be going is hard to describe, so I just say,
“This is what I am doing today.”
I say this because that is exactly what I say inside my head. If I look beyond the boundaries of the current day, or sometimes hour, I may become frightened of the future or regretful about the past. The best place to be in in the present. It is really the only time we can live in. Our minds typically are in a hundred places at once. Often, we are absent from the moment we are participating in. There is a time to plan, but even those plans are subject to change. There is also a time to go back and do some necessary repair work. It can be fruitful–we just cannot live there successfully. The only place we can truly live is in the here and now.
So, I say to myself, “This is what I am doing now” and “this is where I am.” One of my new favorite theologians, Thich Nhat Hanh says, “The present moment is filled with joy and happiness if you are attentive, you will see it.”[3] This is how I want to live the rest of my life—in the present moment, experiencing joy and happiness because I am paying attention.
When Mrs. Beaty said, “Are you present?” what she really meant was, “Are you here?” When my wife, Laura, says, “Are you here?” what she means is, “Are you present?”
Let’s all come back to the present and live in the only time we can!
[1] https://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/communicable/novel-coronavirus/
[2] Gleaned from an online conversation on March 28, 2020
[3] https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/259142-the-present-moment-is-filled-with-joy-and-happiness-if
Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart and the soon-to-be released Tea Shop. He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary and Too Many Podcasters podcasts. He is married to his wife Laura of 32 years and has one dog named Winston. His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply!
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In