"For we will be beaten. But He will not."

“Oh, my dears, I am sorry for all Dutchmen now who do not know the power of God. For we will be beaten. But He will not.”

Of all the lines I learned, these are all I remember. I was playing Casper, the father of Corrie ten Boom, in a reader’s theater production of her autobiography, The Hiding Place.

It was during those rehearsals I remember hearing about the virus that was spreading around the world. I remember saying “I’m not afraid of this virus, the US has an elite medical system that can take care of us. It’s the people that I’m afraid of.” The morning of opening night, we received word that the first COVID-19 cases were discovered in neighboring towns, and after weeks of rehearsal, we decided, for the safety of those attending, to postpone the show, merely hours before curtain. As weeks became months, and we realized a reschedule was unlikely.

Phase 1

This began our first phase of COVID. While I do not want to make light of those who suffered, losing love ones and jobs, this was one of my favorite times. Home became our hiding place. The hustle and bustle of life stopped. My family was forced to actually spend time together. The rut of Sunday to Sunday was broken, and we had to find new creative ways to “feed and protect our flocks.” Everyone was brought to an equal playing field. As those months came to a close, I began to have hope that we would be able to carry some of this life into the future.

Phase 2

In the second phase, as the in-person world started reforming, I quickly realized not everyone was on the same page. Each person had their own opinion of the last two months, and even that was likely to change each time you talked with them. Leadership across the map valiantly attempted to appease everyone trying to find a middle-of-the-road option that could accommodate all sides, but as Mr. Miyagi would say, that would cause one to be “squished like a bug,” and many squished bugs indeed.

Phase 3 This confusion led to the third and largest phase (so far): the political phase. The several waves of COVID were overshadowed by political agendas. It wasn’t just the pandemic on the chopping block, there was hardly a word that couldn’t be politicized. On top of that, politics and faith were blended into a hodge-podge that will take generations to sort out. One couldn’t denounce violent attacks or encourage the less fortunate without being labeled an extreme. However, after several months, there was some hope after the introduction of a vaccine, we began to see some light.

Phase 4 While polarizing continued, as restrictions eased and gatherings ensued, the fourth phase became a brighter, yet still cautious time. After a year of feeling alone, viewing the world through social media, I began to wonder if I was the only one who thought the way I did. As I watched the SBC, I was astounded to find I wasn’t the only one who thought the way I do. It seems that others had a similar experience as new circles began to form online and in the “real” world.

Graduation??

During those last two phases I have been working diligently to complete a Master of Music in Church Music with Emphasis in Technology (try saying that five times fast!). I wanted to remain productive so that, once we are out of the pandemic, I could enter in the new world prepared for whatever God has planned. This week was supposed to be graduation. My family, who for the past 17 months, has rarely been out of the house except for Walmart Pick-up and socially distant (as possible) church services, planned our first trip to Hattiesburg, MS to celebrate this milestone. Just a few days before, I receive notice that due to increase of COVID-19 activity, the graduation event will be postponed and made virtual.

(To the WCU administration, while I have viewed from afar, I have greatly admired your leadership over this past year. Your decisions and statements have given me much strength to stand in adversity and confusion.)

Phase 5

As phase five of this pandemic begins, I am back to where I started, uncertain about the future, and concerned for the health and safety of my family and friends. One of the groups at most risk today is those who chose not to get vaccinated. I get it, I really do. I am anti-pharmaceuticals if at all possible. I have allergies and sensitivities with hairpin triggers. A decision of vaccination is not something to quickly jump into. I would have been happy to wait a few months, wearing my mask and social distancing until it was deemed safe and effective. But the world refused to wait. More importantly, those who didn’t play fair from the beginning refused to wait.

What Now?

At this point, we have two options. We can return to life, hoping the vaccine holds, and if the un-vaccinated get sick, “Oh well, they had the opportunity! They got what was coming to them.” But that wouldn’t be too loving, now would it? Setting aside the dangers of an overcrowded hospital and overworked, short staff, breakthrough infections, and future variants, we are called to love our enemies. If we are called to love those who persecute us, you better believe we should love and care for our friends and family who are just stubborn or misinformed.

Now, we are back to the beginning. We don’t know what we don’t know, again. Even worse, we are so divided, we do not know what information to trust anymore. How we choose to live these upcoming days decide the fate of the established church. It is no longer the actions that we do, there is too much confusion on all sides to decide that definitively. However, we must choose to love.

Corrie ten Boom was not persecuted by another hostile religion. They were Christians, persecuted by a political sect of “christians,” when they refused to let power and vitriol to define how they loved and showed Christ to the downtrodden in their community.

Yes, we should have faith in God. Yes, we should call sin, sin. Yes, we should support our country and our leaders. But if our freedom, both God and constitution given, hinders our love for our neighbor, our friends, the less fortunate, the marginalized, and even our enemies to our faith, we should make every sacrifice possible to be Christ to them.

We may be beaten, but when it is all said and done, God will not. Are you on His side?