I was talking to one of our guys at church last Sunday and I mentioned that he seemed to have lost a lot of weight. He told me he's lost three stone mainly by adjusting his food intake to a very healthy diet during the Pandemic. This is rather opposite to several other people I've talked to over the same period who complain how much weight they've put on. Many of us have been less physically active during this period and the temptation to 'comfort eat' during such uncertain times has probably shifted weight on rather than off.
But in another way I wonder if all of us have become thinner. My wife and I have had several conversations during the last few weeks about 'feeling' thin, which is rather different to being thin. But it's really to do with our emotions and we've had conversations with others who agree that this is how many are feeling right now. We feel thin because what we are experiencing is having that effect on us.
The novelty of lockdown has worn off. When it began last March many of us enjoyed the quieter pace of life, the opportunity to get on with a massive DIY binge, and a break from the normal routines. For some to lose the daily commute and work at home was a real blessing. We saved money on petrol and many of us got to know some of our neighbours for the first time. But lockdown dragged on and soon we were ditching holidays, missing family members, sad not to get out and about and, yes, even missing church. We got a brief respite and things seemed to be opening up again. But now we're getting locked down again, not this time in glorious Spring weather but with the thought of a hard winter ahead. It can make us feel thin.
Some of us don't agree with the way the government are handling this. Frankly, I don't. But my purpose here is not to try and argue for a different approach and I do want to acknowledge that I really believe the government is doing what they feel is right for the country. But if we disagree with the government's approach then we can feel frustrated as there is nothing we can do about it which causes an internal tension that make us feel thin.
Most of us are probably fed up with a lack of contact. Certainly there are a minority who enjoy the isolation. It suits them. But for most we lament the lack of contact with friends, with church members and for some the family disruption is severe. We have the complication of the rule of six, which can create difficulties for larger families and for those who have family living abroad and where there were plans to visit or for them to visit us this year then we are left wondering whenever is this going to be possible again. And why doesn't someone ring me up? It stretches us and makes us feel thin.
Everyone becomes a potential threat. We move around people in shops and they move away from us. If we get too near they glare at us, or we might even glare at them. We try to smile at people with our masks on but fail to communicate it. It's just plain unnatural and it make us feel thin.
Our worries mount up. This depends so much on our particular circumstances. For some it's their kids at school or their young people locked down at University. For some it's worries about possible redundancy. For others it's financial worries because they've already lost their job. For others it's concern about a loved one in a Care Home. For others it's all of these things and more!. No wonder we feel thin.
Then of course it can seem endless. Will there ever be an effective vaccine? We don't know. When would we personally be eligible for it if there is one? Are the infections going to keep soaring; is my area going into a time of more restricted lock down? Will the NHS be able to cope? Will this wretched disease be with us forever? It can seem there is no end to this - so it's not surprising we feel stretched and thin.
And so we could go on.
I've often spoken to leaders about Paul's paradox in 2 Corinthians 6:10 where he writes of being 'sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.' Presently, I think this is relevant to all Christian Believers and not just particularly to leaders. This virus makes us feel sorrowful, emotionally thin and overstretched. But this is exactly the time to make our faith work. We still have a Saviour, we still have the forgiveness of sins, we are still the children of God and we still have the hope of heaven. Even now we are not what we will be but when he appears we will be made like him (1 John 3:2). I think about these things and I rejoice. Think only of the pandemic and you'll just get thinner. Consciously think through your salvation, status and certainty for the future and you can find every reason to rejoice.
I can feel thin right now but I'm going to put on the weight of glory. (Look at 2 Corinthians 4:17)
I'm sorrowful, but always rejoicing.