I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about constancy in recent days. The initial stay-at-home decree from health officials may have felt cozy or even exotic at the outset, especially to Americans accustomed to being on the go. But that sentiment fast morphed into waves of personal anxiety and disequilibrium as huge swaths of the country settled into extended isolation. With daily rhythms for life and work now disrupted, people with serious financial, medical, and relational constrictions are feeling especially exhausted.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve had to face my own disorientation since the cancellation of in-person worship has become more than a momentary phenomenon. I\u2019m lost on Sunday mornings as I try to navigate between online worship, reading the newspaper, texting colleagues, and lounging around within the confines of my home. It\u2019s like having one\u2019s circadian rhythm interrupted, only much more significantly than with a flight across time zones. The clock that regulates my spiritual metabolism has spent 60 nonstop years calibrating itself to weekly worship. I realize that people who don\u2019t worship in a congregation have no idea what I\u2019m talking about. But for me, this arrhythmia is huge.<\/p>\n
Constancy isn\u2019t just a virtue in horn playing. Spiritually speaking, it\u2019s that God-inspired equanimity that allows us to find our way through turmoil. If I don\u2019t get my bearings back soon, I may just have to pull out the horn and give myself a lesson.<\/p>\n