Comment by Harborough churches: Adrenalin may get us through a crisis, but on this long haul we all need something deeper

Viewpoint by By Rev Stephen Haward, the Minister of Market Harborough Congregational Church

I used to work in an office in a residential area. Very little would happen outside to distract us, so we had to get on with our work – even if (as in all jobs) some of it might be a bit tedious.

Then one day there was a loud bang which brought us rushing outside. Two cars had collided, a mother and child in one of them were sitting paralysed with shock and there was mess everywhere. Being first on the scene, we helped those affected, directed traffic and even fetched brooms to sweep up and clear the road.

Most of us are quite good in a crisis like that. Indeed, we often surprise ourselves by what we can do before we have time to worry about it.

Those who ordinarily feel odd at the sight of blood will rush to help someone who is bleeding from a fall. And who has not complained about being busy, and then miraculously found time to drop everything to help a friend or family member in sudden trouble?

The pandemic we are experiencing, and which has affected us all so profoundly, crashed into us this time last year. Nationally, locally and individually we had to tear up the rule book in a hurry to do things in new ways and keep one another as safe as possible. It was a crisis and on the whole people responded to it really well.

But it all feels different now. We might pass in and out of national lockdowns, but the struggle stretches on and on. Even with an efficient vaccination programme, we all realise that we are in for the long haul.

So one of our pastoral needs at this time is help with the sheer weariness that kicks in as weeks become months and months add up, and the challenges are still there. I feel this myself and I am sure you do too. We are all a bit worn out.

So here is a word from the Bible for us at this particular time. In one of his letters St Paul wrote, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”.

Those words speak of faith, not just in God’s power to help us keep going, but in God’s purpose for the world. Adrenalin may get us through a crisis, but on this long haul we all need something deeper. We need to know there is meaning in what we are doing for one another. And we need to know that it will end well.

I have complete faith that both those things are true.

By Rev Stephen Haward, Minister of Market Harborough Congregational Church