Post Covid

What is the one thing you're looking forward to post-covid? 

For those who have been keeping up with my blog, it has been a while since I've last posted. There are a number of reasons. Firstly, it's the school holidays...well...for me I actually started a week earlier and since being on holidays, I’ve felt my daily routines have changed and just in general I don't really have much to say. It's odd. I thought that since I have more time and energy, I would be posting every single day...well, I guess not. Probably because my blogs are a sense of relief from my job or it could be what I use my time for during the weeknights. 

Secondly, I thought that since I haven't posted for a while, I didn't want to feel like I was forced to write something, especially if it feels relevant, or feels kinda like an essay you're supposed to do and complete even though you feel you don't want to do it. So bare with me. Since I'm on break, I thought this blog could for now have a break as well. Maybe now, it could be catching up with other blogs I've written. 

*on a side note, if you would like to get notified about my blogs- you will need to change your settings. Click on follow settings, find notifications and click ‘standard’, not highlight. Hopefully you will get notified when a new blog has been posted. 

Anyway, back to the question. What is one thing you're looking forward to after this pandemic? 

Take some time to think, pause and ask yourself the question. For those who can't really think of anything, maybe because you've experienced it already. I know that in NSW, restrictions are now in stage 3 and a lot of what was normal is now coming back into fruition. It could be finally catching up with a group of friends which had to be at zoom, but now you've taken the time to actually meet face to face. It could be family gathering with your uncles, aunty, cousins and you can greet them with a hug or even a handshake. For parents, maybe it's the relief of thinking of “how did I keep my kids occupied at home 24/7?”. For workers, it could be finally returning to the office, realising you've missed your colleagues so much, you've missed taking the public transport to work every single day.... Okay I was joking.. that's probably the last thing you're looking forward too. 

Anyways for me the reason why I've asked this question is because as I think about the world slowly going back to what was called 'reality' - the little everyday things; whether it would be preparing your meals for the week, catching the 8:34 train to Town Hall station, picking up coffee at soul origin or whatever you did pre-covid. How much of it will change or how much will it stay that way?

Which brings me to the question - ‘what is reality’?  - because at the end of the day, the answer to your question will expose what is your true reality. I was listening to a podcast by pastor John Piper (Ask Pastor John) and to summarize, he talked about how the coronavirus essentially brought out the fear in all of us. For once, we weren't in control of our lives, we couldn't decide many things, we went into lockdown as if we were at war. What's going to happen tomorrow? What's happening to our world? We just went through an intense bushfire season earlier in the year, now what? Are we all going to die? These might be a little exaggerated, but how much of it is true and how many of us did we think we were all going to die? Pastor John puts it simply that when we realise death, suffering, uncertainty, fear, sin - it brings us back to reality. Maybe this whole Covid season has made you realise just how fragile our bodies are, how vulnerable we are as it's in our local area, how much of Covid has turned our worlds upside down. 

The coronavirus is a wake-up call for everyone. Have we built our lives on a fragile foundation, or do we have true, unshakable hope in Jesus Christ?

John answers this using this verse in Romans 8. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."- Romans 8:28

How does my fear about not knowing what is going to happen tomorrow work together for my good? He responds; what is true reality as a follower of Jesus - God offers and commands a life of fearlessness and peace (Heb 13:6 & Phils 4:11) to be content- happy or sad. God is real, hell is real, heaven is real, the blood of Jesus that He sacrificed on the cross is real, faith is real and the absence of faith is real. What John Piper is saying is ‘what is reality’ and ‘not what was in pre-covid’. The virus is a wake-up call for everyone, which is ultimately why I have addressed the question to you. Because for me, it is finally being able to gather and worship in person, singing (maybe not singing yet), but being in the presence of the reality of our King and to praise Him that gives us fearlessness and peace.