Wise preparation and anxious scrambling by Stewart Perry
What a week on the Gold Coast… & there’s more to come… while there’s a few of our church members who’ve spent time in North Queensland & have experienced this before, I’m sure most of us have never experienced a cyclone, or even the threat of a cyclone, making landfall near where we live.
On Wednesday morning I had an appointment at the Q Centre & I couldn’t believe how long it took from the church to get there & when I got there the queue to get into the centre was nuts, mostly on the Bunnings side of the centre. As I apologised to the receptionist for being late we started talking about the impending weather & she said “the problem is we just don’t know what to expect” & my immediate reply was “it seems like when that happens on the Gold Coast, we go shopping”.
That evening Jackson (our former staff member & brand new Parish Council member) was around for dinner & said that he almost wrote a blog for us. He’d been making the connection between the way that people seemed to be preparing for the possibility of a cyclone & the season of Lent which is also about… you guessed it… preparation.
While he didn’t get a chance to write the blog, I do have permission to adapt/steal his idea.
Wise preparation is important, it’s sensible & following the direction & guidance of those in authority, those with knowledge & information is an important part of preparation. What I’ve witnessed in recent days is examples of wise preparation but they’ve been contrast with examples of anxious scramble. Empty shelves in supermarkets, shops sold out of generators, batteries, gas bottles & bottled water… & the thing that I can’t fathom… meat. If we do lose power how are we going to be able to keep all this meat from spoiling?
Leanne & I have got into the habit of shopping in small batches more frequently. We rarely do a “big weekly or monthly shop”. It’s not necessarily a good habit but a function of living & working so close to a shopping centre that’s rarely closed. We’ve often commented how in the lead up to a long weekend the shops seem to go into melt down at the potential that it won’t be open for a single day.
I want to clearly say that sometimes an anxious scramble is the right thing to do to be safe & respond to uncertain times & events. I want to also say that God is always with us in those times of anxious scramble. God is with us in the lead up to the storm, through the storm… AND… after the storm as we clean up the mess.
The challenge with times of anxious scramble is that it leaves little capacity to think of anyone other than ourselves. Fight or flight mode doesn’t leave much capacity or consciousness of those around us who might be in need.
On the other hand wise preparation does or at least should, help us turn towards others. I expect we’ll hear loads of stories in the coming days of amazing people giving of themselves for the benefit of others. Whether it be sharing what they have or even examples of extreme bravery.
Lent is a season constructed by the church to help with wise preparation. Yet I often wonder if it’s a bit of an anxious scramble. It’s almost become like a second chance new year’s resolution. If I haven’t lost weight by Lent then I can try that diet again. If I haven’t started that hobby I promised myself, maybe I can take that up for Lent. Again, that’s not necessarily bad… it just doesn’t help us focus on others.
Lent is a long season, longer than Advent. It’s long to help us to develop habits, disciplines & practices. Not so we just get to experience a holy & profound Easter, but also so we can build those habits, practices & disciplines into our daily lives all year round. This way God’s people have wise preparation as part of their “default setting”… that we might be always ready to give an account of the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
We will always be a mix of wise preparation & anxious scrambling both as individuals & as communities. However, that shouldn’t stop us from being intentional about our spiritual preparation as much as we are about how much meat we have in the freezer.
Stay safe over the next few days. We’ll communicate as often as & as best we can as to what might be possible in our churches & activities. Know that God is with us in all circumstances & God is wanting to work in & through us as we show God’s love in ways that are truly brave for the benefit of others.