We Are All In The Same Boat
Have you ever heard the expression “we are all in the same boat?”
According to Collins dictionary, this expression means: “If two or more people are in the same boat, they are in the same unpleasant situation.” Some synonyms for the expression are: in the same situation or position, in a similar situation as another, alike, even, together.
The origins of the expression “we are all in the same boat” alludes to the risks shared by passengers in a small boat at sea during the mid-1800's.
When we say “we are all in the same boat” it means that whatever the adversity or threat, we share the same challenge. We are all dealing with the same situation.
Now “how” we are dealing with the situation comes in all shapes and forms. I have asked the faculty and staff of Nazarene Bible College to share how they have been dealing with confinement because of the COVID-19 virus. I have asked them to share a positive outcome from this “stay at home” order.
Here are some positive outcomes, from NBC staff and faculty, of the “stay at home” order:
- Yesterday, our Sunday School class met via Zoom. We had 40+ people connected via Zoom! It was a blessing to teach the Word of God even during the "stay at home" order!
- We had a family zoom with not only our children who live in two different countries, but with a sister and our nephew, who live in two other States. On the zoom, the cousins calculated that they had not seen each other in 15 years! So, the “stay at home” order brought us together!
- I had a chance to bake a cake. It’s tasty stress relief.
- Since we are not able to go to church, we have gone online for our services. Not only have we been able to enjoy the sermons of our local home church pastor, but we have been given the opportunity to watch and listen to some sermons of family members who are pastors, and even some former students from NBC. It has been very inspiring to hear and see some familiar voices and faces of years gone by, as they have faithfully preached God’s Word during this time of isolation.
- We had several neighbors reach out to us as they were making trips to the grocery store. They bought us some needed items. We have been blessed by those thinking about others.
- One of the best parts of working from home during this time has been being able to see more of my wife who is also working from home. Also, I find it easier to concentrate on my job due to it being quieter at home. I also find it a blessing to be able to spend more time listening to brothers and sisters preaching and sharing God’s Truth and grace online. Many of these people are relatives and friends that we don’t get to see often, and now I am seeing and hearing them sharing.
- I believe this time is drawing my wife and I closer to God and closer to each other. We have also been making a lot of calls to people in our ministry to try to stay connected.
- Interestingly enough for my wife and I, “stay at home” has more specifically meant “stay more aware,” as through our intentionality of keeping a mandatory social distance, we have discovered our “hidden” neighbors, who like us, have come to cherish their moments of outside escape onto our sidewalks and into our parks that have become far more neighborly at six feet of separation, than ever before, when walls of anonymity shielded us from our disparate lives.
Sometimes knowing the answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?” requires a paradigm shift that is not necessarily geopolitical in nature as with the Good Samaritan story, but rather socio-spiritual, as when we identify and confess a common concern experienced with strangers living on a common street. COVID-19 is redrawing borders of our suburban neighborhood, into a less-bounded community of neighbors.
- Stay at home order has reminded me of my immortality and my assurance of heaven. Because of my age, I am in the high-risk group. But, because of my many years of with the Lord, my assurance of heaven overrides anxiety.
Perhaps you are one who is having a very, rough time because of the “stay at home” order. There are all kinds of negative repercussions that people are experiencing but that would be a whole other article. This article is meant to encourage. The negatives exist, are valid, and are real. Since we are “all in the same boat” with the “stay at home” mandate, perhaps we can learn from one another and even receive some good ideas and thoughts on the “positive” aspects coming out of “staying at home.”
NBCommunicator Editor
Published: 03/30/2020
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