Same storm, different boats
I can’t quite believe that by the end of this week we start May, that’s a third of 2021 gone! Not sure if it’s just me, but it seems like this year is speeding by!
That may be a bit depressing, but on the other hand, there are two Bank Holiday Mondays in May, and hopefully the weather will warm up too.
As we continue to emerge from lockdown it’s been fantastic to see shops, pubs and restaurants reopening, and people enjoying meeting up again.
I am conscious of something I heard author Mark Stibbe quote this time last year: ‘We are all in the same storm, but in different boats’.
This really helped me ‘pastorally’ with people as we went into lockdown in 2020, and it is just as relevant now as we come out of it. As my team seek to plan church activities for the months ahead, I am very aware that people are still in different boats.
There are some who can’t wait to get back to what we do as a church, especially gathering on a Sunday together. Then there are others who have ‘hibernated’ for months and are very apprehensive about being in a room full of people, and they certainly don’t want to go around hugging everyone!
So, I see there is a tension as things open up. In pondering this, I’m reminded of what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in the New Testament...
“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling-block to the weak.”
In this situation, Paul was dealing with an issue in the church over what people were eating whilst living in a pagan culture. Some felt free to eat certain foods whilst others did not.
Paul appealed to those who felt free to eat whatever to be aware of those who thought and acted differently. Both positions were legitimate and neither was right or wrong. The issue was about helping and not hindering others.
The ‘Covid storm’ may be dying down but it’s vital now that we really look out for one another, not expecting everyone to behave as we may do. People will emerge differently. Let me encourage you to remember, ‘We are all in the same storm but in different boats’.
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Stay safe & God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader