We'd Like to Cancel the Cancel Culture, Please

This is not a political post, I promise.

If you know us very well, you know that I (Carol) do not lack an opinion on most things. Thankfully, God has graciously grown my ability to not always be so vocal about said opinions. Lance, on the other hand, is the epitome of think before you speak - like, to an almost annoying degree. I truly am unaware of his opinion on most things, most of the time.

All of that to say, while teenage and young adult Carol would likely spew all of her unsolicited 2 cents on current matters, the Carol who has spent 20 years with Lance and been the extremely grateful recipient of Gods refining, will choose to talk about a different kind of Cancel Culture today.

The Cancel Culture that we are wishing we could cancel right now is the kind that has led to countless hours of isolation. We are growing very weary of our lives, essentially, feeling like they are CANCELED.

School in Germany has been canceled (well, the in-person kind anyway).

The ability to participate in any kind of team sport in Germany has been canceled.

Hosting any kind of a dinner party, even with just ONE other family - canceled.

Concerts, plays, movies - canceled.

Festivals and street fairs, markets and parades - canceled.

Sleepovers and birthday parties, celebrations of any kind - canceled.

Our church service was even canceled this last week due to a rise in COVID cases in the area.

This time in our lives is literally being defined as CANCELED. And we do not like it.

So, what do we do about it? How do we continue to live out this calling that God has placed on each of our lives - to be the hands and feet of Jesus? How do we live relationally with people that we can’t even see face-to-face?

Short answer: I don’t know. We’re still figuring that out. Honestly, I cannot imagine that this is how God would want us to live. BUT, at the same time, He is not surprised or caught off guard that this is the state of our existence. Granted, my North American friends are enjoying a bit more freedom to gather than we are here in Germany, but the frustration is still quite the same. This is not the life we had envisioned for ourselves. This is not how we pictured the church carrying out its mission. This is not what we planned.

Fortunately, we serve a God who sees the big picture, who is omniscient and providential. He knows the state of things. He is still victorious over sin and death and darkness and uncertainty. Praise the Lord! Seriously. Sometimes it is real hard for us to see over the sin and death and darkness and uncertainty. That doesn’t make the Truth of His Word any less powerful or real.

So, in this ridiculously crazy time, TeamDockrey is choosing to trust in the Lord and simply put one foot in front of the other, doing the very things we know that He has asked us to do.. We’re still meeting with students - just on Zoom instead of in person. We get to take banana splits to a dorm once their quarantine is over on Friday (don’t tell them - its a surprise)! And never ever will the ability to get on our knees and pray for the faces and names of the people God has placed in our paths, be taken away.

Our kids will keep going to “school” in their pajamas, we will play countless hours of Jungle Speed and Stool Pigeon, Mastermind and Code Names, Chameleon and Wahoo together, and we will keep our eyes open for ways that God is calling us to serve our neighbors, our community, this place that He has positioned us for such a time as this.