224. Reopening Plan

Ontario’s “Stay-at-home order” that was issued in April has ended as of last Wednesday. (6/2) Ontario has released a new three-stage reopening plan, not based on a date but vaccination percentage.

1st phase will start once 60% of people are vaccinated. 2nd phase, 70% and 3rd phase, 70-80%. As it is based on vaccination percentage, it will be unlikely to regress and go into lockdown again. In this new reopening plan, in-person church service can open up to 15% capacity starting from Phase 2. As the vaccination rate is increasing, in-person service could likely open around July or August. If you have wanted to attend an in-person service, you would have to wait a little longer.

Many people want to go back to normal quickly. But even when we go back to normal, inconvenience we experience won’t go away. Once things fully go back to normal, we may be freer to move, but we will also face another type of inconvenience. Life is tough and not kind to those who seek convenience. When we forget that, we will be living in a daydream and find ourselves getting disappointed even after the pandemic.

James tells us to consider it a great joy when the trials (difficulty) come. (James 1:2) Trials are an opportunity for us to trust God more sincerely and desperately than before. If trusting God was difficult during the pandemic, it won’t be any easier after the pandemic. Let’s not seek to trust God in the future but trust him now, in whatever situation we are. Then, though the problems may persist, we won’t live our lives in disappointment.

But I am glad we can see the end of the tunnel nearing. Though the pandemic created a lot of problems, it also created many opportunities for some. There is a saying that “opportunity is given to those who are prepared.” I don’t think opportunity comes out of nowhere. It is always present, but those who are prepared will find it and seize it. What prepares us to discover opportunities is thankfulness.