How then shall we live? — Vivienne Solomons

This past week has been a particularly difficult week for many of us personally, and as a nation.

In the midst of the Covid-19 health crisis and all that it has meant for us as South Africans, we are now faced with the reality of rolling blackouts and yet another investigation into the alleged wrongdoing (corruption) of a senior and high-profile member of government.

An important aspect of how I typically deal with bad news or difficult circumstances, even uncertainty is to literally and figuratively close my door and rest in my safe place, which is my home, surrounded by my family.

However, last week we moved house. Moving is stressful. Moving with young children even more so. This is because it involves change and many decisions need to be made in a short period of time. Sometimes our much-loved goods are damaged while being transported or they ultimately don’t fit in their new home. Sometimes the unpacking of boxes has to take a backseat to more pressing priorities at work or home.

While moving out of our previous home was a relatively smooth process, settling into our new home has had its fair share of challenges. Of course, none of these issues are critical or without resolution, but what they have done is brought into focus the potentially significant impact my environment has on my attitude.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I have asked myself, on more than one occasion: How am I supposed to live in such chaos? The chaos being, not only what is happening in my own home, but what is taking place in the country at this time?

In those moments, I identified with the lament of the people of Israel in Ezekiel 33:10, after the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem was reduced to rubble, when they asked the question: “How then shall we live?”

This is a question that many of us are asking more and more, not just in this country but all over the world, whether we are believers or not.

God Himself answered this question in Ezekiel 37:3-5 when He told Ezekiel to prophesy over the dead bones, to speak life into them so that they would live again.

It is my personal belief, and something I must remind myself of from time to time, that we have a choice in every circumstance that we face.

No matter how big or small, critical or insignificant it may seem, we have a choice to entrust our lives to God and truly live fully alive (by faith) or to be swayed by our rollercoaster emotions (and the emotions of others), while we wait for the “other shoe to drop”, which is not living at all.

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