Crisis is a Revealer: You can't control the wind. But you can adjust the sails.

This COVID-19 crisis has revealed a great many things about us. You have probably learned a lot about yourself in the last six months, right? Crisis does that to you. Crisis isn’t just an accelerator, it’s a revealer showing you some surprising things about yourself - some good,some not so good.

Since COVID struck in mid-March, many of us have seen more than a few habits, wants and preferences revealed. It may be wise to take stock in what we have learned so far.

You never know how much you love something until it is taken away. And for many of us, some of our most dearly held ways of doing life and work have been taken away overnight. Most of us have missed:

* Going to work at the office.

* Seeing our co-workers and friends.

* Attending in-person worship.

* Going out to eat at our favorite restaurants.

* Shopping at our favorite stores.

* Hanging out with our friends.

* Attending Weddings.

* Visiting relatives.

* Flying whenever we want to travel.

* Vacationing wherever we want to go.

* Enjoying a date night out at the movie theatre.

....and the list goes on!

Maybe this crisis has also revealed some not so good things about us as we have been asked to shelter in place, work remotely from home, do schoolwork online, wear masks in public, limit the size of the groups of people we hang out with, spend extraordinary amounts of time with our spouses and kids while stuck in the house (LOL). Through these six months it has been revealed to us that we have:

* Eaten way too much.

* Gained way too much.

* Become a Movie Critic by watching countless hours of Netflix/Prime

Video/Hallmark.

* Spent way too much time shopping online or binging on the Shopping

Network.

* Fallen asleep and snored in the middle of our tenth Zoom meeting for the

week.

* Enjoyed and gotten used to watching church online in our pajamas

* Played countless hours of video games online with some dude from

Russia.

* Focused way too much time on the 24/7 news cycle on CNN or Fox

News.

* Become so addicted to take out at Krispy Kreme that they know our first

name.

* Grown lazy in our pursuit of our best self as we have lived like a hermit

in our sweat pants and slippers for six months.

Yes this COVID pandemic has in many ways revealed the different sides of us. Perhaps it has revealed some good things and some growing edges too. While I believe what Denis Leary stated is true: “Crisis doesn’t build character; it reveals it.” The good news is this - I think it is also true that we can learn from what has been revealed about us during this season of adversity. I believe we can build upon what we have learned about ourselves, IF we will take an honest look in the mirror and take some action steps.

First, Be honest with yourself!

You must be willing to take a long hard look at how you are really doing in the midst of this crisis. This may take some time especially if you aren’t very good at taking care of yourself or being kind to yourself. Ask - Where are you right now emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally? What have you really learned about yourself, your life, your business, your schedule, your kids and your relationships? Take some time to reflect on these things. Some of you have been pushing so hard through this crisis and haven’t yet paused to reflect plus, on top of that, you are probably just exhausted! Maybe you need a much deserved break, a day off, a vacation or a Sabbatical. Being kind to yourself starts by being honest with yourself!

Secondly, Take action steps!

You will need to take some action steps to help you and empower you to move forward. Seek some wise counsel from trusted and experienced friends or colleagues. Or maybe you need to seek out professional help with a Life Coach or a Counselor to assist you in navigating a healthy way forward. You can learn and grow from what has been revealed about you, and you can build on it.

For example, maybe you have learned from working remotely at home that your business doesn’t need to buy or rent office space. On the flip side of that coin is that by working remotely from home you may have discovered that you have not been as effective and need to be with your team of co-workers to reach your maximum potential on the job. For students, you may have found out that you learn better in a classroom environment and need the socialization with other students to be at your best. Some of you will learn that you need to make some adjustments to your lifestyle and start or get back to a regular exercise routine. Make a list of what your action steps need to be and then intentionally take those steps.

Remember this. When a crisis comes, it reveals three kinds of people: The Pessimist. The Optimist. The Realist.

“A pessimist complains about the wind.

An optimist hopes it will change.

A realist adjust the sails.”

We are in the midst of this pandemic, and we don’t know when it will end.

We can complain about this crisis. Or we can hope it will go away.

Or we can adjust the sails...

We can’t control the wind ... but we can adjust the sails!

Lester Spencer

Lead Pastor

Saint James Church