The other day my exasperated friend said, "I just want to go to sleep and wake up when it's all over!"

I totally understand our widespread discomfort with this unpredictable, scary, and what many consider to be unproductive time.

But while this strategy can be helpful for some events, usually of a much shorter duration, author Seth Godin points out that this is not very helpful for extended periods, like the one we're going through. And as Christians, who's faith has prepared us and even been designed for times like this, we do well to ponder how this point in history can be used to inspire, connect, create, serve, and grow.

On Sunday we get some timely advice from Jesus. He's on his way to the cross and  it’s a time of deep instability. So Jesus urges his increasingly alarmed disciples not to worry. Time and again he urges focus, concentration, and confidence that what they’re going through has meaning and purpose.

You and I are in a similar space. And God’s word to us is to be present, calm, non-anxious, and even expectant of what God is up to. Thus, these are not unproductive times, but differently productive times.

Let us not wish away this extended discomfort lest we find we’ve also missed out on a different sort of opportunity. Let us take a tip from the Spring that is exploding outside our doors this week: What’s coming into bloom? What’s being recreated? How are we being invited?