Lockdown 3.0

Dear friends,

I was at a wedding last Saturday at 2pm and my phone started to vibrate like there was no tomorrow. Our Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, had called her second press conference for the day and as they says the rest is history. I don’t know about you but had an overwhelming sense of “Here we go again!”. March 2020, Avalon Christmas and now the Bondi Cluster (yes, it sounds like a trendy cereal).

Our sense is that we will be in this mode for a few more weeks and then there will be tighter restrictions generally until we have a larger number of people vaccinated. What that will look like we don’t know but we will keep you informed to the best of our ability. 

So while we are here, how do you make the most of Lockdown 3.0. Here are 4 tips.

1. Start to learn how to use time

Here is an African proverb: Westerners have watches but Africans have time. It is a critique of the Western world where we run around on schedules, trying to jam as many things into our day as possible. It is said that Africans do the important things with their time and if there is opportunity for something else, then they might do that too. Lockdowns provide a circuit breaker and our schedules are usually disrupted. That provides you with an opportunity to ask, am I really doing the important things, the things I want to do with my time. Perhaps you are, but perhaps this moment provides you with a chance to pause, reflect and change. 

2. Remember the importance of prayer

There is much to pray for and the felt urgency of our need to pray is heightened in moments such as this. We have been trying to turn to prayer more often in our house this week and yet, is the need to pray any greater now than it was last week? I wouldn’t have thought so. There are always concerns to bring before the Lord and Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5 are ringing in my ears - pray continually! We are trying to establish some new patterns for prayer in our house during this lockdown. Could you do the same?

3. See the value of family and friends

Connectedness is one of the “buzz words” of the 21st Century but I fear we are in many ways increasingly disconnected. 50 years ago you would see real people every day at work, in travel, at the shops and in leisure. Now it is possible to do all those things from the comfort of your home, to see no one and be totally disconnected. Of course, FaceTime, GoogleMeet and Zoom allow you to see people but do they allow you to connect? All the research into human thriving finds that we need real human connection. We need our friends and family to do life well. So who could you go for a walk with or meet to do your shopping together with. An old friend or perhaps a new friend? There are still opportunities for real life connections in a CovidSAFE way.  

4. Know that God is still on the throne

Despite all the uncertainty and frustration, God is still on his throne and ruling. The Psalms contain a great litany of beautiful songs, many of which find this theological reality expressed. Life takes twists and turns that we rarely understand but God superintends over it all and is never out of control. He knows this time and he knows you and he has got you. We might wish that he would press a button and stop the ride so we could all get off, but let us remember that this life is not ultimate. Jesus came because our world is a mess in every way and he is coming again to take us to a place where there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain for this order of things will pass away. So keep trusting in him and fix your eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.

Well, I look forward to seeing you whenever we are able and if you need prayer or assistance in some way, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

God bless.