Social Distancing = Family Time

It’s only been a few short “long” weeks since we first heard about social distancing. We are all adjusting to this COVID-19 season, and praying that it doesn’t last long. We hope our state Governor and our President are making wise and prudent decisions that will ultimately benefit us, even during this inconvenient time.

For those of us who have a natural introvert personality, social distancing has been a regular practice. For those of us who are extroverted, this is torture. However, this is our new reality. For all of us, it is an inconvenience and a learning opportunity.

Stay home, keep away from large groups, stand at least 6 feet away from people in public, go for walks but don’t congregate, are phrases repeated in the news, on social media and texts. What we are trying to accomplish is protection of the public health.

Unfortunately, it all sounds like things we cannot do. And I think our natural tendency is to look at the negative aspects of our situation. But in our new reality we have a unique and special time to stay home with our families. We may not be able to get together in large groups, but we have some special people in our homes with us that, in normal times, we take for granted.

If we consider our normal schedules, we are so busy that we hardly take the time to have a meal together, to be still and enjoy each other’s presence. Work, school, sports, extra-curricular activities and even church can have us running around so much that we get stressed out, anxious, and exhausted. Can I get an amen?

However, in this unique season of life, as unprecedented actions beyond our control have cancelled all public gatherings, i.e., school, work, church, movies, etc., we are also getting a time to slow down and rest. Yes, I do know there are still responsibilities, still online school work, and some can even work from home. But consider the change of pace.

For some, this is the first time they’ve worked from home and though you might lock yourself in a room for a while, you’re home for breakfast, lunch and dinner. For some, this might be the first time parents and children are working through school work together in an extended way.

I want you to stop for a few minutes and gather the people in your home and ask yourselves, what are the positives of our new norm? (seriously, take 5-10 minutes and create a list)

In my current situation, I have 3 young men living with me: Alex, Sam and Nick. In the first couple days since the “stay at home” order has come in, we have had breakfast together, lunch together and dinner together. We have gone for hikes and went running together. We have cleaned together. In those times, we have talked about a lot of topics, from the light hearted to the soul searching questions. I’ve really enjoyed my time with them.

Now it hasn’t all been good. We are all humans and we are all selfish. So there is a learning curve to all this time together. But it has made me think about you and your family. Although I am not happy about COVID-19, the stay at home orders, the canceling of…well everything else. I am jealous for you to redeem this time and grow as a family.

We often don’t stop to consider the importance of time together, yet we all long for it. As a matter of fact, the one thing I am struggling with the most during this time is not having time with the youth group and people from the church. I long for those times, and I love having the gatherings at church.

Yet, God is faithful and is in control. He isn’t surprised by this coronavirus, and if we could zoom out to see what’s happening from His perspective, we would be overwhelmed by His kindness toward us, even in the midst of a pandemic.

On Sunday, Petar read through Philippians 2:4-11 and encouraged us to reflect on how Jesus was willing to leave the comfort and safety of Heaven and face the reality of death for the sake of redeeming us. This demonstration of love for us should be our motivation to live for Him and like Him every day of our lives, and especially in this current season.

I want to focus on two other portions of Philippians 2 to consider while we are in such close proximity to our families and in our homes. Remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as you consider these words:

Philippians 2:1–4

¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ²complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

There are some great words for us in this passage: encouragement, comfort, affection, sympathy, and joy. I think we all want and need each of those right now. The source of these is from the participation in the Holy Spirit that we receive from being in Christ. Seeing what He has done for us and believing in Him brings about heart change and Spirit empowerment.

In this season, when we are following the “stay at home” order, remember Christ and do nothing from selfish ambition, but humbly seek to serve the people in your home. What does that mean?

A regular question I ask myself is, “how can I serve these guys”? I’ve trained my mind to bring this question up over and over. So when I walk into the kitchen and someone didn’t do the dishes and my natural feelings of frustration start to kick in, I stop and ask myself, “how can I serve these guys?” In other words, how can I be Christ to them? Sometimes I just do the dishes and pray that God would help me love them well. Other times, it means I have to talk with them about communal living and taking responsibilities for our own actions.

In your home, how can you serve one another? How can you be Jesus to one another?

True statement: when you put others before yourself and serve them well, you will bless them and be blessed by them.

Philippians 2:14–16

¹⁴Do all things without grumbling or disputing, ¹⁵that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Ok, yes verse 14 seems impossible. Especially when we are sequestered in such close proximity. But God isn’t asking you to do this on your own power. He says, “holding fast to the Word of life.” Cling to Jesus and to His Word for your strength and power.

I pray that you and your family are getting into the Word of God together and individually. We’ve made the Worship Guides for Sundays to encourage this in the homes. I’ve said over and over again throughout the years, that a sermon on Sunday and a lesson at Youth Group is not enough for a Christian, but they need to supplement that daily in the homes. Now you have extended time to do that.

In closing I want to give a few thoughts of encouragement to the parents and to the youth.

Parents:

You got this! Remember you are human too and this is just as new for you as it is for you child. Remember the importance of grace for your teen and for yourself. Learn together. Enjoy the time you have in such close proximity to your teen. Go after your teens heart, ask them about their dreams, establish new rhythms and make the most of this season. Turn the conversations from what you can’t do, to what you get to do. You are shaping their perspectives by how you respond to this season of life. Help them see that God is bigger and His plan is better than anything we can imagine.

Teens:

Remember everyone is inconvenienced by this stay at home order. I know it’s hard not to hang out with your friends every day, but you get to spend extra time with your parents and siblings. Get to know them better, they are people too. Have patience and grace with them as you learn together how to be is such close proximity to each other. Ask your parents for advice, ask them about their childhood, how they met, and what their dreams are. Look for ways to serve your parents and love them.

For all of us, we are learning to adjust to this pandemic with all the worries and fears that come along with it. With each phase of life we will see friends come and go, but our families are…well our families. They are with us for the long haul, how can we make this season about enriching our relationships with those closest to us?