Pivot

So, how’s your week been? Okay, probably a stupid question. Odds are, there have been some drastic changes for you these past couple weeks. Maybe your kids are home because their school is closed. Maybe you are working from home or maybe you are scrambling for childcare. Maybe you can no longer visit an elderly loved one because their care facility has been locked down. Maybe you just can’t seem to find any pasta. At all. Anywhere. (And heaven knows we need our comfort carbs during times of crisis!)

pivot: 1. v.  To make a dramatic change in policy, position, or strategy.

We’ve all been required to pivot in this season. We have had to, at a moment’s notice, pivot away from the way we’ve always done things: from the things that seemed sure, the plans we made, the sports games and celebrations, concerts, church services and travel. And instead, we have had to pivot toward the unknown. What will it be like to spend more time at home and in the neighborhood? To keep kids busy and healthy? To make sure neighbors have what they need and to maybe even ask a neighbor for something we might need? To worship in new ways? How long will we be at this, and do we have what it takes?

pivot: 2. v. to turn or spin around a center point

When I am pivoting toward the unknown, it is easy for my focus to become myopic. My anxiety often causes me to react in fear, or even to not act at all. But when I remember that the One at the center of it all is the One who always was, the One who created the world, the One who is the beginning and the end . . . I find my rightful place.

Knowing that our Father is at the center (and I am not), I can be agile. I can make decisions from a place of peace instead of panic and be the non-anxious presence someone might need in the moment. I can give and not be afraid to pour myself out, knowing that He is the source of all restoration and life.