Every year at this time I try to combat the excesses of the last month by creating a concrete healthy living plan that will get me back on track. I look at exercise, amount of carbs consumed, junk I have accumulated, use of plastic, alcohol use, and I set goals. Not in all of those things, 2-3 solid and achievable things that will improve my overall health. One thing I am especially paying attention to how caffeine is affecting my sleep. A question I have never explored.
This year, though, I have to take into consideration that the coping mechanisms I need to deal with the stress of this pandemic might conflict with the ways I have constructed a healthy life in the past. Exercise, no problem. But carbs, that has been a significant coping mechanism the last 9 months.
I find I have also been binge watching crime dramas. I know intrinsically that it isn’t healthy for anyone to be exposed to so much violence and brutality. And I don’t watch it for that. I am repelled by the violence. I think that I am watching for the happy ending. That even in the midst of a horrible, violent, possible nuclear bomb attack episode, most of the time the world is saved and everyone celebrates by having a beer.
Somehow happy endings in a comedy or a food network show just don’t cut it. I need a happy ending that is unlikely and monumental. One that has an immediate effect. One that requires some sacrifice, some risk. One that you have to want so badly that you are willing to do almost anything.
As we settle into January, I wonder how I will contribute to a happy ending in this pandemic. What am I willing to offer? What am I willing to sacrifice? Will I put myself in the metaphoric line of fire? Will my offering involve any risk? Covid isn’t a crime, per se, but it is deadly and causes immense suffering. I want it to end, I want the happy ending, but what am I willing to do to achieve it?
Let’s pray about this. What would Jesus do? What are we willing to offer? How do we make this not about us? How do we stop this menace with love?