Creative Hope
Covid 19 will change things for the better although it doesn’t look that that way today. We’re still in the suffering and death part. In a weird way I am comforted by the fact this is a cycle and we are guided by the template of humanity handed down to us through the ages. Death, transformation, and resurrection.
It happens to the best of us, we can’t outsmart it, can’t out-wait it, or out-run it. In a mini way MS did the same thing in my life. I went through the death of life as I knew it, was transformed by it and now feel like I’m living a resurrected version, completely different but more beautiful because of it.
So here we are in the Covid storm. The crucifixion part is over. We have a vaccine. Now the suffering part, the fall out and aftermath. Supply chain issues, fuel shortages, no housing, global warming extremes. So what do we do? How can we counter balance all of this? We can only jog and garden so much. Where do we get our hope?
My friend has a beautiful way of putting it: Its not so much what Covid is doing to us, but what it is revealing to us. It has exposed the brokenness, darkness that was already there, it didn’t create it, we just can’t deny it or distract ourselves from it any longer.
But there is hope. We can work through this and come out stronger on the other side. Out of the ashes come a transformation and resurrection with the right attitude and willingness. We can’t fix a problem unless we know what it is.
Phillipians 4:11-13 tells us ‘I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is like to be in need. And I know what it’s like to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in every circumstance whether fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through him who gives me strength.’
Yes a positive attitude is desirable, but how do we ‘be content’ with flames licking at our heels? Simple positive thinking is not enough. Sheer might, will and intelligence don’t work, we’ve been trying that.
What about hobbies? They might provide us with some clues and point us in the right direction. Occupying our hands and minds will surly move us in the right direction.
There are many creative ways people are coming up with to spend their time. I watched a few You Tubes recently – one where a couple was building miniature sets in their backyard to attract and photograph squirrels who go grocery shopping and sit at their dinner table. Another one where someone cleared out their bathroom cabinet to socially distant it down the hallway to watch their cat maneuver through. Highly entertaining alright, and great to post to see how many hits you get. But is it something that will build lasting fulfillment and contentment in the years to come?
When I went to art school, I learned that to get good at something requires 10,000 hours. Whatever it was, a career, a hobby, a passion of some kind. And by 10,000 hours you were starting to get the hang of it and lean toward ‘experienced’. Doctors, lawyers and professionals fall in this category, but there are also the Sunday painters and backyard mechanics.
I know for myself, the more I practiced drawing and painting, the better I got. I had to heavily rely on the ‘I can do all things in Him who strengthens me’ part because I can too easily get discouraged and give up. But it’s His strength behind me, not my own, that keeps me pushing on. And when I keep that in the forefront I get better then feel better about myself, which has nothing to do with circumstances. I look at the joy on the face of our piano player at church who is put music online for us in the height of lockdown. Hobbies are something we can fall back on to keep ourselves buoyant during these turbulent times. And who knows they may evolve into something more.
Our world is rapidly changing and our experience along side of it. So while we are adapting to our new world why not start transforming it by transforming ourselves, and wisely filling our minds and hands, not just to entertain our friends on You Tube, but start punching a clock towards our 10,000 hours of something we’re designed to do. We are in this for the long haul so we might as well work at being content with it, starting with being content with ourselves.
Besides who knows how He will use it in building Heaven on Earth, for the resurrection part.