Irrelevant. It’s a word I can’t seem to get out of my brain these last few days. In less than one week, so much that I deemed and esteemed “relevant,” has actually rendered itself utterly and completely “irrelevant.” Travel plans? Irrelevant. Busyness? Irrelevant. Outside stimuli for pleasure, adventure, reputation, life experience? Irrelevant. Irrelevant. Irrelevant.

The Simple, the Humble and the Ordinary

On the flip side, the overlooked, the simple, the humble, and the ordinary are catching my attention once again. Paddle boarding at sunset. Full seats at the dinner table. Tapping into emotions like loneliness, loss, and anxiety while at the same time, rediscovering courage, hope, and the priority of connection. I find myself appreciating those around us that don’t crave the spotlight, don’t get enough credit for what they do, and don’t yearn to be a guest on the next prime time talk show. Yep, those people are my heroes right now. Needed. Important. Giving us hope and peace.

I hope we never go back. Back to health and to work and to connecting with one another, yes; but I hope the cult of personality and the idolatry of celebrity die out with the coronavirus. I hope my values continue to undergo a seismic shift in how and what to live for. Moment by moment. Day by day.

Human Beings, not Human Doings

The superficial twigs that held us to our occupations, our reputations, our aspirations, our programmed places and purposes are snapping. The old footholds have washed away in the torrent of the unpredictable. Most of us sit and wait. Confronted by the uncomfortable need to recognize and characterize ourselves afresh as “human beings” not “human doings.”

And therein lies either the terror or the peace. Which will you embrace? The identity that no matter where you are or what you’re doing or not doing, that you are created in the image of God and therefore are inherently valuable and with eternal purpose? Or will you let yourself become eaten up with anxiety, uncertainty, boredom, lack of usefulness — tossed by the circumstantial winds and waves whipping around us?

My Victory Song

As for me, let me be emptied that I might be filled!! Let me decrease that He might increase!! Waving the white flag of surrender, I write my victory song.

And my prayer for all of us is to embrace whatever situation we find ourselves in. And this is the context in which Paul wrote … abased or abounding, hungry or full, confined or free, he knew: I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. He does not, cannot, will not abandon His own.

Annemarie McLean is a four-girl mom, freelance writer, and co-founder of Brave & Beautiful, a ministry focused on challenging young women to live purpose-driven lives full of courage and character, while developing Christ-centered inner beauty.

In 2012, she also founded 3D Missions, an international outreach taking the Gospel to the nations through the performing arts. Annemarie holds a journalism degree from Oral Roberts University, with post-graduate work in organizational leadership at Palm Beach Atlantic University.