It has been a year since the circuit breaker measures were put in place in Singapore. Never before in our history as a nation was there a lockdown as such. I doubt any of us had experienced anything like this before either.
For two months, most of us had to stay home except for essential activities and exercise. This wasnāt just happening here in Singapore ā most of the world was experiencing something similar in different degrees.
With the lockdown came new norms. We had to work from home, cook meals more often, and our kids had to get used to home-based learning. Masks became a common thing. Churches had to be shut. The country literally came to a standstill.
A year on, things have re-opened substantially, but there are still many things that have not been normalised. Weāre now able to see a little light at the end of the tunnel.
One thing is for certain ā weāre looking forward to the day when weāre able to leave our homes without masks.
As we begin to see the possibilities of life reverting to pre-COVID days, itās also important for us to take stock of the last 12 months because that was a time unlike anything weāve had before. Our routines were turned upside down, and weāve all had to pivot in some way or another.
The Bible has an interesting passage that goes something like this:
At that time, the Lord will shake the heavens and the earth. For whatever can be shaken will be shaken, but those things that are permanent shall not be shaken.Ā (Hebrews 12:27)
Now is a great time to consider what has changed after such an incredible shaking: to consider what remains and what has been dismantled in our lives.
Here are a few pointers to help us in this process.
1. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT ABOUT OURSELVES?
Taking stock of the lessons from a crisis is obvious. What I want for us to consider though is a more specific look at ourselves.
What has the pandemic showed us about ourselves? Did we lose our discipline because we no longer have the framework of work hours and work structure as we worked from home?
Were we able to pivot and take advantage of opportunities despite the restrictions that were put in place? Did we remain optimistic or did we become complainers? Were we able to see the opportunities?
Thereās nothing that reveals quite like a crisis. Whatās most important is learning something about ourselves and then determining where additional work is needed.
If our productivity dropped because we didnāt have external structures in our lives, then itās important for us develop the discipline needed for independent work. If we succumbed to the adversity of the situation, then greater resilience is required.
Gaps are bound to show up, and when they do, it isnāt a bad thing. Whatās bad is when we donāt do anything about those gaps that appear.
2. WHAT HAS COME TO THE FOREFRONT?Ā
Itās also important for us to consider what worked for us during the period of crisis. For many of us, we were locked in with our families more than ever during this time.
If this doesnāt show you the importance of building and valuing your loved ones, we might have missed one of the biggest lessons from this pandemic.
We discovered the need for genuine relationship and community that had to survive beyond “hi” and “bye” when physical meet-ups were no longer possible. Somehow, when weāre forced into a corner or when something is stripped away from us, things of true value begin to become more apparent.
At least in my family, almost all of us learnt to cook a meal for the whole family (Iām talking not just about cooking instant noodles here), and we had to function as a team a whole lot more during the two months of lockdown.
3. ARE WE READY FOR WHAT’S AHEAD?Ā
I believe the pandemic also showed us a little glimpse of what lies ahead. Some things will never revert to pre-COVID days. Food delivery, online shopping and remote meetings are just some of the obvious ones.
Will there be Christians who may make online services their default weekend practice even after things fully re-open? Iām certain that there will be.
The problem here is our natural affinity for the past. Thereās always a tendency to stick to what has been done in the past and to validate them without realising that many of the younger generation are not going back that way. They carry no nostalgia to the “old days” because they havenāt had the opportunity to formulate them.
What theyāre experiencing now is whatās forming their sense of routine and lifestyle. Itās easy for us to insist on going back to the past, but in the end, what it does is it that itāll eventually make us irrelevant.
Instead, whatās more important is for us to look to the future. Itās to know that there are some things that have changed once and for all, and the “good olā days” are never coming back. Our aims and methodology must embrace the reality.
Thatās the funny thing about crises. The values that are eternal get reinforced ā values of family, love, relationships, discipline and others. But the methodology and those things that are not lasting go through an upheaval.
I believe that the last year of pandemic slowed all of us down and brought many things to a standstill. But the gun is about to go off at the starting line, and a new wave of activity is about to begin.
Before we all start running again, I pray weāll do a serious stocktake because when the race restarts, itāll reveal the results of our “captivity” in the last 12 months.
This article was first published onĀ Cornerstone Community Churchās websiteĀ and has been republished with permission.
- What has the crisis reveal about yourself?
- What have you discovered to be the things of value over the last 12 months?
- What aspect of the future do you need to embrace?