SIP (Shelter in Place) limits us all. SIP both restricts the spread of COVID-19 and curtails everyday living. Looking at how coronavirus is unfolding in Italy, where the lockdown began around Milan in the northern province of Lombardy, we will likely be under lockdown for quite a while. So this can become a test of our endurance. In these early days, how are you doing?
We have some food stocked up, plenty of toilet paper (hope it lasts), lots of books that have been gathering dust on the shelf, YouTube, an active virtual community, the California sunshine beginning to break through, and sometimes the sound of birdsong - God’s creatures are very welcome in our new reality!
I’m learning a lot about Andrea’s job since she’s been working from home, and feel ready to start becoming a genetic counselor myself! I’ve also been swamped by a myriad of emails, plus trying to learn new ways to connect online. The lockdown has helpfully dragged me into twenty-first century living.
remaining six feet apart
On the downside I miss my weekly exercise. There’s no gym to frequent, no pool to dive into and, since I’m still recovering from a torn calf muscle, am not able to run. But most of all it’s fresh air that I crave, so we’ve taken some long, refreshing walks around the neighborhood.
But there is another perspective, and that is: how to turn SIP into an Investment in the Kingdom of God? This test of endurance becomes a Kingdom Investment when I use it to reach out to others and increase care, harmony and hope. Let’s look at those ideas, and especially ‘hope’:
Care -- letting folks know I care and I am there for them online, and if there’s an emergency I’ll turn up on their doorstep (or they can arrive at mine);
Harmony -- being on best behavior - both with my housemates and my virtual friends, taking time to craft thoughtful communications.
Hope -- SIP is only for a season, but it could be a long season perhaps 6-12 weeks. SIP reminds us that we’re waiting for heaven, and we know that when heaven arrives all else pales into insignificance. So, since Heaven is our real destination, how about we learn to talk about heaven, and what it will be like when Jesus comes again? We are not used to doing this yet, but just as the hope of heaven kept the New Testament Church alive, talking about Heaven can keep us spiritually alive.
I remember the incredible story of Louis Zamperini stranded at sea in an open boat. On the barren liferaft you are exposed to blistering sun in the daytime and chilling saltwater waves at night. There’s no food, no fresh water (but if you sip small amounts of seawater and collect the dew that forms each evening you will survive), no shelter apart from the clothes you wear. How do you keep up your hopes? Some slide into denial, gritting their teeth and repeating the mantra: ‘I can make it through. One day at a time. I will make it through.’
How did Zamperini survive? He thought of all the comforts he was missing and shared them with his boat mate. You are starving so imagine enjoying a fabulous five course meal, relish the flavor of every morsel, the sip of each beverage. You are lonely so relive the lively chatter of every family member and friend. Recreate the setting in your own mind -- perhaps an evening meal with glowing lights around an open hearth fire, or think of al fresco dining in the warm breeze of a summer garden, or out on the patio of a city cafe, under an expansive umbrella as city dwellers glide past and pigeons play in the fountains at the center of the plaza square. But we are not talking about food and friends and travel. We are talking about Heaven because, even with the deprivations of SIP, returning to ‘normal’ is not our destiny; Heaven is.
So what is your picture of heaven? Would it be the anachronism of singing hymns around an old bearded father-figure? Might it be a heart filled with rapture and praise? When Jesus comes again it’s true that we will fit into His agenda, and that includes making everything just and fair. It also involves making everything beautiful. And I’m sure it will be exciting and thrilling and our hearts will be continually full of the glorious presence of Jesus.
So let your imagination roam. Think of what heaven might be like. Share your picture of heaven with family, friends, and the online strangers that you meet. We can turn SIP into “Sharing in Paradise” …
