Our Best Laid Plans
Reflections on 2020, thus far
At the beginning of March, Matt and I were still uncertain about our summer plans, wondering whether we would start building a house or take an extended vacation. A week or two later, neither option was possible.
As new realities set in, it was clear that nothing could be subjected to our own time frame, as airlines and borders shut down, and the provincial government banned giving out building permits. Truly, it was clear we needed to pivot.
We work for our church. When many people had for themselves some newfound free time, Matt and I were now entrenched with an overwhelming amount of work that looked very different than before. With so many out of work, we were grateful to have the income, but it did come with a new set of challenges. Many churches were learning and rushing to move their services online, to make sure the congregation stayed fed.
It was time to be resourceful. It was a time to do things that none of us were previously prepared to do. Matt went from being solely a seminary student, and Young Adults pastor, to the videographer. I went from being the graphic designer to the video editor, and forerunner of figuring out how to live stream our church service onto our new and improved YouTube channel, that had previously been collecting cobwebs.
Today, we find ourselves nearly at the 4-month mark since this huge transition, and the province and city have allowed places of worship to resume in-person services. Because our church has immunocompromised individuals, we also continue to provide an online service.
So much has changed. I mentioned to Matt recently how this time last year we had been on our vacation in England. Entirely oblivious to the year ahead, but gloriously free to travel and do whatever it is we wanted. Admittedly, it took some time to let go of what I thought this year would have looked like. The privilege we had to even dream those type of dreams, and then to be told — indefinitely — things would never go back to the way they were.
On the most basic level, you never know what you have till it’s gone. Or in more Spiritual terms— you never know how blessed you are, until something is taken away. Truly, everything we have is from Him. In this season, I have learned much about myself, both good and bad. What comes out of my heart when I am persistently challenged and denied the things I feel I am owed. How I respond when my time is no longer spent the way I thought it would be spent. Largely, I needed to learn how to be flexible.
Christ has blessed us tremendously whether we have little or live in abundance. It isn’t hard to see that God has been present and working even through our most challenging moments of it all. It has benefited me greatly to stop and take stalk of the things that I have been afforded in this time, that many others have not. I am grateful for a God who is abundantly patient with people like me who often don’t see things the 5th, 6th, or sometimes 12th time.
