Stimulus

Two trillion dollars to propel us as rapidly through this crisis as possible. Rocket fuel to get us to the other side. Questions loom… is it enough? Will it impact the places where it is needed most?

Questions without answers. But the rationale is clear. Get us through this. Fast. Numb the pain. Flatten the curve. Declare that we’ve seen the bottom of the market.

Quarantine is something to get through. Something to weather. Something to push past.

A crisis to be managed? An issue to be sorted out? A catastrophe to be minimized or contained?

Yes, on many appropriate levels. Medical teams unplug their clocks and press in. Local retailers shutter their doors and hang on. Hourly workers at local grocery stores clock in and hope for the best… and for each, a prayer and a heartfelt expression of gratitude.

Yet, if we simply press through, if we simply focus on getting to the “other side”, we miss the unrelenting power of the moment.

This is a plague of Biblical proportion. Perhaps it’s God, with His cosmic thumb on “Pause”, maybe even, “Stop”!

If we simply press through, we miss how fragile we are. We miss how misguided and misplaced our self-confidence has been. We miss the beauty of isolation. We overlook the tenderness of those who we used to ignore or look beyond. We miss God…

A stimulus as a solution to propel past the pain?

From the pen of the Holy Spirit (through the paraphrase of the Living Bible, a passage I memorized in this way as a kid, and now find from power and comfort in):

Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.

Don’t try to squirm out…
Patience in full bloom…

Ready for anything! Strong! Complete!

What if quarantine meant flourishing? What if isolation meant thriving?

Redeeming the pandemic.
Repurposing the pain.
Stimulus in the problem, not just through it.