In January, when the other IndiAanya editors and I began to dream about writing themes for 2020, we had no idea that within months we would find ourselves locked in our homes in the middle of a global pandemic.
Many of those themes have been well suited for this unprecedented time. We've written about Life-Changing Moments and Being Responsible Citizens. In August, our writers will share Lessons From Outside the Comfort Zone - for example, all those things we are learning right now, from the (dis)comfort of our own homes.
Other themes were less prescient. This month's meditation on Songs You Want Sung at Your Funeral might hit a little close to home for some, though there is ample biblical precedent for contemplating our own mortality (and what better opportunity?).
Likewise, for May we had planned a No-Complaining Challenge, which seems almost laughable now. No complaining when you've been shut inside with your offspring for eight long weeks? No complaining when you cautiously venture outside only to get crowded by a mask-less stranger in the checkout line? No complaining when the whole world has gone crazy and there is no end in sight?
This would be a tall task at the best of times! Though we are not exactly inventing the wheel with this challenge - the internet is teeming with personal essays on the topic - we might just be taking the vehicle into new terrain. If there's anything I can say for sure, it's that none of us are living the life we were expecting, and we would all be entitled to a little bit of complaining right now. No judgement here. Really.
But instead of shying away from those things that we see differently now from what we did in January, we've decided to embrace our new vantage point as an opportunity to view our lives and the world in a new way. In that spirit, we're inviting you, if you feel led, to join us in our No-Complaining Challenge: One month. Zero complaining.
For the next 30 days (more or less the month of May), we at IndiAanya are committing to no complaining, no matter what. Leave a comment if you'd like to join us. And follow along in June as some of us write about our experiences, our successes, and (for sure) our failures. In the meantime, here are some verses to meditate on:
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticise you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Philippians 2:14-15Then Moses added, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us."
Exodus 16:8Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
Ephesians 4:29But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.
Job 2:10Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash
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I join the challenge!
I will join!