Lockdown - Time to Come Home

Recently, my wife and I were reflecting on our collective fears over the virus.   In a totally spontaneous moment I blurted out that I wasn’t afraid to die. My comment had nothing to do with some morbid obsession with death. I value my life. My comment had more to do with striving to cultivate an unshakable courage that enables a person to live their life to the fullest.

I admit that this isn’t your typical conversation starter,  but being mindful of your own mortality can be a fruitful path to happiness if taken with the right attitude and sound perspective.  

So - What are the different ways that people respond to the lockdown? Here are 3 key ways:

The Anesthetizers: These are the people that focus on never ending distractions and dedicate their time to trivial pursuits like binge watching mindless TV, endless social media, gossip, screen games etc.  The problem with this mindset is that once you strip away the distractions, the restlessness and the fear is still there and perhaps even heightened.

The Rebels:  These are the people that don’t want to change regardless of  the consequences. These are the under-reactors adopting a false bravado.  They just keep doing things the same way, even if their way is reckless and potentially damaging to others.

The Reflectives:  These are the people who will use this time to find and make the most of the hidden opportunities.  These people are living by sound practical and spiritual principles. They believe that their lives have transcendent meaning.  

Do you identify with any of these 3 groups?

Hopefully you find yourself in the 3rd  group. If you are a reflective person, this lockdown  presents a time to turn inward, to evaluate our lives on a deeper level, to confront our deepest fears, to probe our spirits, to develop our spiritual muscles which might have atrophied through lack of use. 

Oftentimes it takes adversity to make us think about God - maybe even for the first time.  God sometimes does his best work when we are in the midst of turmoil and unrest. Like a good parent God will do anything to bring us home; home to a life built upon a relationship with Him. 

Just imagine a child that always disobeys his parents.   Does a good parent stop loving their child even if they are being disobedient?  A good parent is patient, so that when the kid finally does obey, the parent is overjoyed.  So overjoyed that the parent forgives all the times that the kid wouldn't listen. 

This is the way God works with us;  we can reject him and we can be disobedient. But when we turn back to Him, God lovingly forgives our past transgressions. 

I believe that God is mercifully giving us a chance - with plenty of down time -  to make the most out of this challenging crisis. He is using this lockdown as a time to come home. Yes, literally home to our own homes - and - home to a loving relationship with Him.