(Photo by Selma Komisky)

The Great Intermission

By Keni Kirkwood

It’s only intermission, they say. This pandemic has shaken our lives, but the creative forces of the world are quick to assure us that this isn’t the end, just a pause. Before all this, I was living in the rush of my life’s first act, the part of the show where the characters and themes are established. I was a newly minted adult, and there were exciting new opportunities and friendships to build. And then…well, you know what happened. Here we are.

It seems the world has simply stopped. It’s both terrifying and refreshing to live in a world free of traffic jams and overflowing schedules. It can be easy to dwell on the lack of…basically everything. I confess I’ve caught myself thinking things like, “What if this never goes back to normal?”

“Will hugs be ok again soon?”

“Is this even making any progress?”

Those aren’t the thoughts of a mind totally at peace with what God’s doing. So, what if we (and I’m definitely talking to myself here) could flip the script? Instead of thinking of this as an ending, let’s think of this as simply a break, an intermission. Let’s choose to anticipate a showstopping second act.

Thinking of things this way has reminded me of another great “in between,” the greatest intermission in history. I’m talking about the three days Jesus was in the tomb. The disciples were scared. They felt lost. They were in hiding. My guess is that they were wondering, “Will things ever be normal again?”

They may have only had three days to wait, but with Jesus in the grave those were the darkest three days in history. But then Jesus rose again. He conquered death and proved He was the son of God. The world was changed forever. The disciples didn’t just go back to their old lives, then. They went on to something bigger. They set out across the nations, spreading the good news.

As I processed those thoughts for this article, I was hit with a deep realization of hope. While our wait is certainly (much) longer than 3 days, it can’t be so dark as that of the disciples. In fact, things will never be so dark again. Because Jesus lives! Think about how glorious that is. The Savior is alive and He walks with us. We may be away from others, but we aren’t alone at all.

Now, we live expectant of what He is going to do and of when He will return. We are waiting for the second act of God’s redemption story. The hope that we are called to live in expectation really speaks to me. It changes the narrative from dark to light.

This is a time to look for what God is doing. It’s a time to rest and find refreshment. The show isn’t over. Let’s look ahead, as the best is yet to come. After all, it’s only intermission.

“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.”

– Job 19:25

“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

– 2 Corinthians 4:18