Debunking “We’re All in the Same Boat”

We aren’t all in the same boat.

Summer, spring, fall, winter. One thing hasn’t changed through this time and that’s that we arent all in the same boat.

Mothers are getting to spend workdays with children. Fathers don’t have to travel as much. Family meals get to be around a table again. We get to be more intentional with our priorities because the world around us isn’t doing it for us. It’s uncomfortable to be pushed to find your own time with God when small groups aren’t meeting and Sunday services have been cancelled. We are so far out of our comfort zone we can’t even study someone else’s as a guidebook to follow. All we have to cling to is faith. Jobs aren’t secure, money isn’t secure, routines aren’t secure. We can’t half heartedly or subconsciously go through the motions in which our identities have become so engrained. We have been forced to become intentional about every little purchase, every little outing, every little touch, every little interaction. We have been forced to be intentional friends instead of catching up while watching basketball games or whenever-you’re-free, we-should-do-this-more-often weekend trips. We’ve been forced to be intentional grandchildren because we know in the back of our minds grandma hasn’t seen anyone othe r than herself in 4 days, and that’s going to continue for an undetermined time. We feel guilt for having a more secure situation than some, but we wince in painful jealousy at the ones seemingly untouched by the unjust fingers of the pandemic.
Everyone keeps saying we’re all in the same boat, and that is totally untrue. I have thankfully been in a very fortunate position during this time as far as job security and income security is concerned, but it’s only made me wish I’d bitten my tongue when I complained about having ungrateful students or difficult meetings. It’s made me realize how much I loved my job exactly how it was, and not at all how it is now. This experience has made me realize a lot about myself because of the amount of time I’ve been able to dedicate to self reflection and growth.

This isn’t everyone’s story. This isn’t everyone’s boat. There are moms working from home with 3 kids wanting to make slime rather than complete schoolwork, and she lets them because if she doesn’t make this sale she has a better chance of facing a lay-off. While all of us are running away from the burning building, there are nurses, doctors, janitors, and first responders running into it trying to cushion the blows of the pandemic. There are grandmothers and grandfathers, uncles, and aunts living alone and more isolated than they’ve ever been before. There are women and men everywhere unemployed who can’t get anyone on the phone to receive their last stitch of hope for financial security.

There are people suffering; there are people thriving; and there are people everywhere in between. Our cards were not dealt evenly. And like I said before, in a time where everything is unsure, it only further illuminates the One who has always been truly the only secure thing we’ve had in our lives.

It’s both reassuring and completely terrifying to realize how much faith we had in the false security this world has to offer, whether it be our jobs, routines, homes, or heath. Faith in God’s promises is the one thing that can stand in a time like this. He’s the the one thing that won’t fail us.

Praying that we find peace in that truth.

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” - Hebrews 10:23