Kindness

I have thought many times, "If only I could take two weeks to stay home and get things done."  I am behind on every project I've dreamed of accomplishing for the last I-don't-even-know-how-many years.  I need to clean, sort, donate, throw and otherwise organize my belongings.  Heck, I have a Christmas tree skirt I started before my 28 year old daughter was even born to finish yet that I could work on, if only I had the time.  But somehow, when facing down a mandatory order to remain at home and not leave, it does not sound that appealing.  I never have liked being told what to do (so I'm told, anyway!)  So being forced into it by a silent foe that I won't even see coming until it has run me over is a struggle.

It seems fitting for this point in time that the Fruit of the Spirit I have remaining is kindness.  We are going to need a lot of it in the coming days, weeks and months, as we navigate a world that has totally shifted on its axis almost overnight, leaving us all scared, confused and wondering what is going to happen next.  

Millions of people are anxiously isolated at home, some alone and some with family members with whom they are not used to spending unlimited time.  It will be easy to turn on each other, as unrealistic expectations of quality family time fall rapidly into the chaos that is enforced home time and excitement gives way to boredom.  We live in a culture that can hardly bear to have stores closed for one day, and for whom being out and about is the lifeblood of our society.  We eat out, play out, socialize out, chafing at having to remain at home even for a major holiday.  Being confined for days to weeks on end is a hardship, both mentally and emotionally, for most of us.  We will be using all the fruits of the Spirit as we struggle to work, live and play in the confined space of our own homes.

But we aren't just navigating family dynamics, we are also working our way through new territory in every aspect of our lives.  Some people are working from home with kids running wild around us, while others have lost their jobs and are worried about how to maintain the roof over their heads.  Truck drivers are worried about loads and whether they will be able to get care if they get sick on the road.  Business owners are trying to figure out how to pay bills while not bringing in money, and how to best care for employees through this unknown circumstance.  Medical personnel are draining themselves physically, mentally and emotionally trying to cope with the increasing toll of very ill patients and inadequate resources to deal with everyone.  Banks are suffering, restaurants are closing, gym equipment stands empty and playgrounds are silent.

Everything, absolutely everything has changed in the blink of an eye.  I don't know about anyone else, but I never could have imagined this scenario happening for real in a million years.  And while all this is going on, we can't see the people we love, even close family members like elderly parents or other family members who have compromising conditions.  We are isolated, even with all our technologies, in ways we never have been before, left to deal with the most stressful time of our lives mostly isolated and on our own.

As a nation, it feels like we are divided in every possible way.  We can't have calm discussions about anything, much less what is right and wrong in this situation.  What is more important, lives or the economy?  What are the costs and the benefits of each solution, and what weight do we give to each factor?  Frustration is spilling over into anger on all levels, and meanwhile the virus relentlessly continues to take its toll.

We are watching disaster strike across the world, and I, for one, feel completely bewildered and powerless in the face of it all.  I would like to go back to how things were a few months ago, when COVID-19 wasn't a word yet, and before I knew how everything would be upside down.  I am sure a lot of people across the world join me in those thoughts.

This was certainly not the post I intended to write when I started thinking about this series of posts back in January, but the verse I chose turned out to be the perfect one.  I didn't know why it struck me at the time, but I guess God had his plan already in place to bring me comfort in this hard time, because I find these words give me peace in the midst of the maelstrom.

But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.Luke 6:35-36 (NRSV)

The coming days are going to involve enduring hardship we never envisioned.  We will be tempted to lay blame, allow our anger to drive our emotions, to lash out at those who are closest to us through our own frustration and helplessness.  We panic buy, leaving others with nothing.  We want to go out and socialize, even though it might cost someone their life.  We want what we want, and we don't want to give in to a virus that we can't control.  And because we can't see, much less confront, the real enemy, we will make enemies of those in front of us.

Satan is rejoicing, I feel sure.

But as these verses remind us, we are to love our enemies, do good and lend to others with no expectation of what we will get in return.  We are directed to be selfless and show mercy to others, as God has shown us, and we will be rewarded with everything that comes with being a child of God.  Nothing Satan throws our way can defeat us when God is with us.

Kindness costs us nothing but a moment of grace.  Whatever else we do in the coming days, let us strive to be kind and give grace.