But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV)
The start of year 2021 has sparked new hopes for all of us. Many of us were glad to put 2020 behind us, eager to dive into 2021 with plans of defeating the corona virus to put an end to the pandemic. All our hopes now rest on the vaccine, and every country is trying to get their hands on it as fast as they can in whatever amounts they can get. There's no time to waste if we want to end this pandemic so that we can get back to our previous normal lives, it seems.
While we're still fighting this battle on a global scale, many of us have been cracking on a local level. My boss at work had come down with Bell's palsy over the new year. My co-worker had to leave his job and fly home to take care of his ailing mom. My friend's grandma has recently passed away of old age. At Resonance, some of us also have seen our loved ones pass away or battling sickness or other health conditions. Many of us have been straining to get through everyday in some form of normalcy.
Though I myself haven't been financially or physically impacted by the pandemic, the mental stress and anxiety has hit my family. Bit by bit it's been chipping away at my energy and patience level everyday. Don't get me wrong: I praise God for protecting me and my families over this past year. It's the social isolation that's been getting to us, which seems to be the silent killer lurking in the background in everything we do. I see this affects both the young and the old around us – the young needing their active social life, and the old needing to connect with their family. We can see how it’s led to a deterioration of our physical, mental and relational health.
So what can we do now? Can more Zoom calls solve the problem? Maybe another text or photo to grandma? How about another cool app for our teenage kids to send selfie videos to their friends in an instant? Technology has brought us who're far closer together, but us who're close farther apart. I think when it comes to staying connected and supported, it's all about content, not format. It's the quality of our interactions, not the quantity of our touchpoints. It's in how we show our vulnerability to others, and how we extend our care to those in need.
Throughout this pandemic, if there's one thing that I've learned from God, it's my weakness. My strength comes from my willingness to admit my weakness to God, and to allow God to fill the void with His power through His ways. For many of us, it takes a lot of courage to admit our weakness and let others enter in to help. It's so much easier to just carry on day by day and pretend everything is fine and we're still going strong. But that is putting ourselves, not God, at the centre of our lives. I've learned that is called pride, not strength.
The next time we connect with each other, let’s think about how we can elevate our conversations and bring us closer together as a body of Christ. Can we bring down the invisible barrier we’ve put up between us, and reach out to the other side with authenticity and genuine care? Are we willing to let God work through our weakness and build us up with His strength?