Faith In Fiction | What A Catchphrase
It seems everything these days is reported or gauged as pre-COVID or post-COVID. For all of us who weathered the worst of the pandemic, the question that taunts us is if life will ever return to the “normal” that we once knew. Are you tired, as I am, of the catchphrase, “we’re all in this together?”
In early 2020, before the pandemic hit, I was living the American dream. At 35 years old, I enjoyed working as a restaurant hostess in a niche family-owned business in our small town. As a physician’s assistant, my husband’s time was split between a friend’s private practice and a hospital in the neighboring town. We lived in a small 2-bedroom wooden bungalow with our three children, Micah (age 8), Sarah (5) and Simon (2). We all had ministry roles at church, my husband as a deacon, me as preschool guru and the children (yes, even Simon) as greeters.
Drifting through the early days of the virus, I experienced feel-good moments when seeing signs on storefronts and neighbor’s lawns, “We’re all in this together.” It touched me that others cared or were at least sympathetic to one another’s situations. With people not venturing outside their homes, the restaurant where I worked quickly shuttered. As a hospital employee, my husband worked long hours, utterly exhausted when he did get time off. Struggling to deal with this new reality, I started each morning off reciting a verse that sustained me,
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7
As the months wore on, I became frustrated, even agitated by the annoying “we’re all in this together” signs on neighbor’s lawns. We were all living through this pandemic together but its tentacles were having a heavier impact on some than others. I remained out of work and my husband risked his life, physically and emotionally, every time he entered a hospital room. Yet, others hurt more than my family, unable to visit and say good-bye to loved ones. The Lord had to remind me,
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
My country, my state, my family and even my church were divided: the masked and the unmasked, the socially distanced and those opposed to distancing, those supporting lockdown and those opposing lockdown. Having more time for prayer and devotions was a welcome blessing and I was struck one day by this verse,
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2
As believers, we are united in the Lord’s unconditional love and forgiveness. We are unified by the Holy Spirit and the mercy that we have received. We are to be “in full accord and of one mind.” Whooooaaa!!! Paul, through the Holy Spirit, told the Philippians and us, by extension, that as believers, “we’re all in this together.”
When I see the catchphrase, more rarely now, it reminds me of Jesus and His church. As His followers, we are united around Jesus, the only person in history, both man and God, who died and rose again. We are united, through the Holy Spirit, in the most precious and thrilling mission ever, to share Him with the rest of the world. We truly are, as the Church, all in this together.
