There are times when the load I am carrying weighs me down. There are likewise times when facing a huge job motivates me to work harder. My mental and emotional energy affect my physical energy. I am moody like that.
For instance, two weekends ago, I felt so overwhelmed by a lengthy list of things to do for work and chores to do around the house that I hardly got anything done. I felt unenergized, unmotivated, and a little down. I simply could not start.
Then, when last weekend rolled around, I got out of bed, emptied the laundry room of its contents, vacuumed, and used masking tape as needed to prepare to paint that room. I proceeded to give the room two coats of paint, gardened for a few hours, and then rested, feeling satisfied.
That night, as I sat down to watch television with my husband, I looked at the state of our family room. The mess was much more extensive than that of the previous weekend. Jackets and shoes and laundry baskets from our laundry room remained displaced, as I waited for the paint to dry. Yet, while I dislike sitting in an untidy room, I was at peace. I knew that, even though I could not see it in that moment, a priority job was underway elsewhere.
I reflected upon this. The weekend before, when there was less “mess” to deal with, I felt defeated by the idea of small jobs; yet, a week later, I had torn a room apart, creating a veritable disaster area in another room, and felt motivated to continue.
Perhaps others are like me in that “starting” can be the issue. We all need to start somewhere; checking a few things off the to-do list eases anxiety, improves attitudes, and increases energy.
Aren’t we blessed that our God isn’t moody? He consistently oversees the huge mess of humankind, lovingly dealing with individual souls and seeking out priority needs, although we cannot always see the process. The job is huge, but God is the Master Starter. God is the beginning of everything.
Right now, there are people dying, losing jobs, and suffering in the loneliness and anxiety of COVID-19. There are people dying at the hands of those who are supposed to protect them. There are people peacefully protesting to promote the sacredness of life, particularly those judged unfairly for the colour of their skin. There are others who are violently looting stores, wreaking havoc, and exploiting the situation while law enforcement teams are otherwise preoccupied.
In Luke 15:4-7 we read, “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”
This parable illustrates that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, will seek out the priority – the sheep most in need – expecting the rest of the flock to hold tight and stick together until he returns.
Although we may feel overwhelmed and desperate during these times of uncertainty and unrest, as a flock we must stick together and pray for the world’s most urgent needs. We must pray for the physical and emotional safety of everyone. We must pray that people will learn to treat each other with respect, recognizing that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. Through example, we must teach our children to love everyone: people with different skin colours, with different accents, with different religions, with different opinions, with masks or without.
We see the overwhelming mess around us, and the load is heavy, but God will not get “moody” and forsake us. In faith, we believe that when there is a problem, God has already started fixing it, even when we cannot see him.
