Everything is uncomfortable. Painfully uncomfortable, even.
The mind-numbing boredom is inescapable.
The close quarters are suffocating.
The close quarters are suffocating.
The finances are tightly squeezed.
The fear and worry threaten peace.
The lack of distractions leaves a void.
The loneliness is hollow.
The unceasing kid questions are draining.
The unceasing kid questions are draining.
The future is unknown and out of our control.
It is everything at once, tugging relentlessly, with no means of escaping, that constitutes the daily fight against discomfort.
And then add to that the heavy sadness of Easter celebrations spent in isolation. It is almost too much to bear in some moments.
The distractions of junk food, Netflix and FaceTime can only go so far, as they are poor substitutions for the way things were before.
Discomfort. That is our fight. Fighting to face it. Fighting to live alive in the midst of it.
And then add to that the heavy sadness of Easter celebrations spent in isolation. It is almost too much to bear in some moments.
The distractions of junk food, Netflix and FaceTime can only go so far, as they are poor substitutions for the way things were before.
Discomfort. That is our fight. Fighting to face it. Fighting to live alive in the midst of it.
In my experience from the past month of COVID-19 isolation, things were satisfactory at the beginning with newness of circumstances and fresh adrenaline. As time dragged on, enduring got harder because the end is still out of sight.
I have been at the point of tears on many occasions because the invisible ache is so painful and I can’t make it go away. Some days are tolerable, and some days I can't stand it.
And yet this discomfort I feel pales in comparison to the burden of pain and sadness Jesus carried as He came triumphantly into Jerusalem, riding a donkey on Palm Sunday, knowing He had come to die. Or the loneliness He must have felt praying alone in the Garden of Gethsemane surrendering to the will of His Father. Or the anguish of crucifixion, knowing He could stop it at any moment, yet choosing to allow death because of His great love for us.
How did He do it???
And how do we face our intangible pain, the invisible enemy of discomfort, day after day?
It appears we are faced with a great choice: Either retreat in defeat, or lean in and take new ground.
When we lean in, we rise to the occasion. We prepare ourselves for what we are facing. We grow the muscle to fight back.
We grow our grit.
According to Merriam-Webster, grit means to have "firmness of mind or spirit; unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger".
Jesus had grit. He was able to stay the course, leaning into the discomfort, and literally creating life where there was none before. He grew His grit by continuing to lean in when things got hard, instead of pulling away.
Where there is discomfort, there is an opportunity for new growth.
In the stretching and pulling, new space is created for growth and new life.
To grow our muscles, we lean in to the burn and fatigue, resisting the urge to quit.
To grow our discipline, we lean in to what is good for us in the long run, saying no to the momentary feel-good option.
To grow our patience we lean in to the slowness of time, pushing back against forcing everything to happen immediately.
To grow our faith we lean in to what God says is true, surrendering our fears and worries.
To grow our trust we lean in to the feeling of being out of control, letting God be in charge.
When we sit in that place of discomfort, we make room for new growth. Leaning in holds the space, making room for something new to occupy it. But we need the grit to hold on.
In this time of certain discomfort, we have the unique opportunity to lean into whatever that discomfort is, growing our grit, and creating something new that we did not have before.
So what's it going to be?
For me, I am leaning into the feeling of being unsettled, restless, and unfulfilled, allowing God to make more room for Himself to satisfy my every longing and desire. And it is painful, because most of my ways of being fulfilled are not available right now. Many days result in frustration and frantic searching for something to satisfy.
But when I do lean in to God, there is new growth in Him.
Jesus knew His death on the cross was the ONLY way for us to be able to be with God today and for all of eternity. Jesus is the only way to eternal and abundant life.
He had grit. And His grit gave us life.
When we sit in that place of discomfort, we make room for new growth. Leaning in holds the space, making room for something new to occupy it. But we need the grit to hold on.
In this time of certain discomfort, we have the unique opportunity to lean into whatever that discomfort is, growing our grit, and creating something new that we did not have before.
So what's it going to be?
For me, I am leaning into the feeling of being unsettled, restless, and unfulfilled, allowing God to make more room for Himself to satisfy my every longing and desire. And it is painful, because most of my ways of being fulfilled are not available right now. Many days result in frustration and frantic searching for something to satisfy.
But when I do lean in to God, there is new growth in Him.
He had grit. And His grit gave us life.
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)
