Maybe I’m just getting old but time sure seems to be moving fast these days. My wife reminded me that this week marks the five-year anniversary of COVID being declared a global emergency. Five years! Remember trying to figure out what 6′ looked like for social distancing? Or the panic-buying of toilet paper? How we all got into baking sourdough bread like we were auditioning for a baking show and learned (some of us STILL learning) how to unmute ourselves on Zoom. Those were wild and unpredictable days. No one knew from one day to the next what the next new thing to be flung at us would look like.

And yet, we adapted. 

Think about it—working from home went from being a rare perk to a way of life for many. Online shopping? We took that to a whole new level and haven’t settled down (my porch is weary of the ongoing onslaught of Amazon packages. Ugh.) Church services, doctor’s appointments, and more went virtual – In fact, I did a wedding ceremony last summer over Zoom! We figured out new ways to connect, to work, to learn, to live. It wasn’t always pretty (looking at you homemade haircuts. Sorry kids, but we’re saving $40 a pop!), but here we are.

And that’s the thing about us—we adapt. We obviously don’t always like change but we figure it out. And if the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we are far more resilient than we realize. Which is important to remember in light of recent news headlines, because, let’s be honest—the world is still a mess. To say “we are in unprecedented times” almost seems cliché at this point. Can you feel the cultural and political landscape shifting beneath our feet on a daily basis? I can barely get a handle on things when the next torpedo comes down the pipe either on my newsfeed or a news site, ready to explode any sense of normalcy or expectation I’ve been clinging to.

I realize the pandemic ushered in a lot of pain and hardship for countless vulnerable people in our world and today’s situation is causing the same. In fact, the parallels with the pandemic are uncanny. The division and polarization is perhaps one of the biggest similarities. The fear of what’s next is also high on the list of parallels. But the biggest parallel, it seems to me, has just been the sense of un-ease. Of being unsettled. Of uncertainty. Of a yearning for the days of yesteryear when life was…. predictable. Sigh.

I think if there’s any comfort that can be drawn from reflecting on the world that has emerged on this 5 year anniversary of the most disruptive global event since World War II, it’s the observation that if we weathered that ridiculous storm, we can weather this one, too. It wasn’t because we just muscled through it with grit and determination. That’s far too simplistic of an answer. The truth is, we made it through COVID because we leaned on one another. We checked in on our neighbours. We brought groceries to folks who couldn’t go out. I remember on numerous occasions in our online home group “gatherings” where we let our guards down and shared stories of personal hope and transformation that brought tears to all our eyes. It was stuff like this that got us through. We learned to really see those who were struggling—the lonely, the sick, the ones who were already vulnerable before the world fell apart.

I’m pretty sure this is what will get us through this moment, too. Not escapism. Not pretending everything is fine when it’s so clearly not. But by paying attention to what actually holds us together: looking to community, trusting a faithful and loving God who looks like Jesus and refusing to turn a blind eye to the pain, the fear and the sense of unsettlement taking hold in our own lives and the lives of those around us.

The world is still shifting, still unpredictable, still exhausting. But the way forward hasn’t changed. We hold on to each other. We hold on to love. We hold on to the truth that no matter how chaotic things get, we are not alone.

And maybe we can also agree to never go back to hoarding toilet paper. 

PS – I’m praying for you, church fam. Let’s commit to doing so for one another. Please. And if you’d like to chat about the impact the news is having on you these days and how you’re handling things, or you’d like some specific prayer related to all of the unsettling, fear-inducing and polarizing news, reach out to me via email and let me know. I want to be here for you. We also have a pastoral care team that is available and eager to connect with you.