Stewardship in Crisis
What is your caring capacity? At different times of your life it will ebb and flow, at times greater, at times lesser, and in times of crisis, it is natural to shrink inward, to narrow our focus, to close the aperture in an attempt to help our minds cope. Even our prayer life can reflect the isolation of crisis. In praying the Psalms, I am always struck by how the psalmists beg for retribution to come to their enemies. They pray for their own deliverance, yes, but also revenge and retaliation and death to come upon any who speak out against them in equal measure with those who have abused the Psalmists. The psalmists are in crisis, and their prayers reflect their anguish in their narrowed scope.
We are the psalmists now, crying “How Long?” and “Deliver me!”, as well as “Lord, may your justice come!” and “Destroy my enemies, O God”. We are crying, we are mourning, we ache and feel broken, and in the middle of all this, we are called to care for our selves, our communities, and this earth, this beautiful garden? How can we be stewards of creation, when we feel as if we cannot move?
Several weeks ago, I read the writings of someone who had training in how our brains handle and operate in a crisis. There are different kinds of crisis - there’s the immediate crisis which happens quickly, and the physical recovery is fairly quick, there’s the immediate crisis with a long physical recovery, and there is the long-duration crisis. These are general categories, very broad, and there are nuances and different catalysts for each. The writer described the clean-up efforts in NYC after the September 11, 2001 attacks. He said that at about the 6-8 month mark, the volunteers were singly and collectively hitting the wall. To handle a crisis for that long leaves psychic scars. There comes a point where it feels as if it is not worth continuing the effort of dealing with the situation, and these dedicated women and men had nothing left in their mental tanks. This was true across the board of genders and background, faith expressions, and age. Tempers flared, arguments broke out, people abandoned the project, teamwork suffered.
The writer expressed that the 6-8 month mark of a continuing crisis is the time to be the most gentle with ourselves and with those around us, and to remember how we feel in this time, and apply the lesson of gentleness whenever we find ourselves at the wall again.
It is also important to set goals to look forward to. At this point we know the rules of wearing masks, keeping numbers low for gatherings so those attending have space to spread out, of washing our hands, and staying home if we feel at all ill. So we can make plans for stewardship caring with those guidelines in mind, and when our capacity is at low ebb, pray to God the honesty of that feeling.
O Lord, my God, how long?
with no end in sight, how long?
We mask, we hide, we scorn and deride.
But with no end in sight, how long?
You, O God, are our hope, but we feel bereft and adrift in the sea.
You, Lord, keep us close, so why do we feel so alone?
When my well is dry, God, fill me again,
and when I can draw barely a cup, show me the joy of sharing
I do not ask for strength, my God,
but for me to know your grace
And when I cry “How Long” again,
let me know we are now in your time
