"The caterpillar grows wings during a season of isolation. Remember that next time you're alone. - Mandy Hale
We are in a season of isolation. We didn't ask for it, but here we are. I've heard quiet confessions as some of us are finding mixed blessings hidden in this season of slowing down. As we practice intentional distancing from the chaos and the crowds, some are finding something unexpected... a quiet contentment.
Too much isolation is unhealthy for man. God designed us for relationships... with Him and each other... but so many of us have spent decades on the run with little time for real relationships. We've been living tightly wound, with very few margins in our days. There is little room to take a deep breath. We ride the merry-go-round, but we never really enjoy the ride.
Here we are in the midst of something scary, tragic and difficult, yet many of us are breathing a little easier in this forced waiting place. Yes...we are living a semicolon existence; paused and unsure of what comes next. We need to really pay attention to what comes next.
While some are focusing on the fear, others are finding a quiet place of hope and faith. In the midst of the most difficult days of fighting an unfamiliar virus as a patient, loved one or caregiver, courage blooms and loving kindness spreads. (Check out John Krasinski's "Some Good News" on YouTube) When face to face with that thing you fear most... sometimes... you have to relentlessly choose to press in and press through.
We are a few days past Easter, the celebration of resurrection is still fresh in our minds. Such a victorious ending to what felt like a disaster only five days ago. A little time and a little perspective can change so much. But, there are times when hard stuff is just that... hard.
I remember when Jesus heard that the King's daughter had asked for John the Baptist's head on a silver platter. Jesus had been actively preaching, teaching and healing people to the point of exhaustion when word came about his cousin, John's death.
Jesus and John the Baptist had been boys together, born months apart. Both were miracle babies. Their mother's were cousins and close friends. News of John's death by beheading must have been devastating. Still, the people pressed in on Jesus, never allowing him to pause and grieve. He was nearly forced to keep going. Then, he took an intentional break from the people... even his closest friends and disciples. He isolated himself.
As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. -Matthew 14:13
He chose alone in the boat and the wilderness so he could be still in the presence of the Father. He could weep, pray or maybe take a nap. We don't know exactly how he spent the time, but we know it was a time to recharge. We know that he would rejoin the disciples later that night in a boat by walking to them on the water. His miracles were increasingly bold and extraordinary.
The tragedy of John the Baptist's death was real. we know Jesus had the power to resurrect John like he did Jairus's daughter and Lazarus, but he didn't. Jesus prayed through the sorrow and did not "undo" the evil. Two thousand years later, we can't explain why he allowed it, but we can trust His heart and His hand. Perhaps this passage gave him comfort:
Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come. For those who follow godly paths will rest in peace when they die. -Isaiah 57:1-2
John the Baptist had gained new life. He would be spared the evil to come, the earthly experience of watching Jesus die. When more than one gospel records something, it appears to be something very important. Important enough to be emphasized by more than one recorder and reporter. Look at this passage:
"A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart." -Matthew 12:35 & John 6:45
Good and evil are still co-existing on this planet. One day, that will change, but until it does... we will face trials and trouble. It doesn't mean God is absent or doesn't care. It means that we do not see as he see. We are looking through human eyes and not God goggles. Jesus intentionally took time alone ... as my GPS would say... to "recalculate".
Pause. Ponder. Pray. Proceed. In seasons of isolation, we can practice doing the same. It changes everything.
Today, I am grateful for the lessons learned when we are alone.
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