Stimulus Check

The peh Factor

“Seeking balance in a polarized world”

Stimulus Checks

Hello, Everyone. I trust you are doing OK during this time of social isolation and the resetting of life as we have known it. This is a time of mystery during which none of us know the long-range impact.

• None of us know if everything we are doing will end in recession, depression, or restoration.

• None of us know when we will get operating on all cylinders once again.

• None of us know if our social distancing will eradicate the virus or if it will return.

• None of know how the decisions made by our leaders will impact the elections in November.

What we do know is that these circumstances will unfold at their own time and in their own way and we will interact with them as they unfold.

That having been said, Terri and I received our “Stimulus Check” electronically this past week. “Yeah!” An even greater “YEAH!!” came this morning when two of our four sons, the two that were laid-off/furloughed, contacted us to let us know they had received their checks. This will allow them to pay rent for one more month and buy a few groceries in addition.

The reality of receiving the checks also stimulated us to think a little differently about the title, stimulus check. As we began to talk about the events begun by Covid-19 we wanted to “check” the behaviors that this pandemic has “stimulated” in us. Let me explain.

Anyone with a sane mind and a limited checkbook has had to make adjustments over these past 7+ weeks. Here are some of the behaviors we have been stimulated to make.

• Looking at our purchasing patterns. In some ways in the past, shopping has been part of our entertainment.

• Considering what we value and how we establish priorities to reflect those values.

• Using creative ways to stay connected. This past week we had our first Zoom conversations with family and friends. How great it was to see those we love as we talked with them.

• Considering and then acting on how to be most productive with my time at home. Each person is given 24 hours per day. How do we spend those allotted hours?

• Realizing there is a big difference between needs and wants.

• Getting crafty once again. Terri is excellent at this. I have abandoned some of my hobbies. I’ve been stimulated to resurrect post Easter.

• We value the opportunity to get out and walk/explore the area around us (thank you ‘Wrigley the dog’ for being our coach keeping us healthy).

• Using our DVR to record programs we want to make sure we don’t miss.

You may want to add your own check list of things you have been stimulated to learn, re-learn and value because of these days.

Of course, as we work our way out of this crisis sometime in the future, everyone talks about “getting back to normal.” But should we? Maybe to some degree, but, do we really want the normal we used to have or do we want to create a new normal based on what we have learned and experienced? For instance:

• Do we want to stop saying “Thank You” to those who work to save us and serve us in the medical, educational, law enforcement, and military world? I think not.

• Do we want to stop spending time with our children and grandchildren?

• Do we want to stop participating in the learning of our children even as our wonderful teaching staff resumes their professional calling?

• Do we want to stop being neighbors, caring for one another and looking out for one another?

• Do we want to vamp up our energy machines that have polluted our environment?

• Do we want to ….

So, how do we do a “stimulus check?”

I suggest a three-fold process: Remember, plan and implement.

Remember. So often as we begin to move on from a bad situation we either leap ahead into something new or, ignoring the lessons from the past, we simply attempt to rebuild that which we lost. We don’t take the time to remember the way it was.

Those of the “Greatest Generation” as Tom Brokaw labeled them, remembered the pain of the Great Depression, the agony of a world war, and they chose to do things differently. Remembering was critical to lifestyle change. We too need to remember the events of this past short while as we contemplate moving into the future.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, as the Children of Israel were preparing to enter the Promised Land, God’s Word was very direct to them. After reminded them of all they had been through and the blessings that God was providing, this warning was given:

• Deuteronomy 8:17-18 (NRSV) 17 Do not say to yourself, "My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth." 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.

Remembering is part of our “stimulus check” for “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana). Remember.

Plan. Sometimes change happens serendipitously. Most often a new way emerges in response to a well thought out plan. It was Samuel Goldwyn of Hollywood fame that is attributed with the saying:

• The harder I work the luckier I get.

He may have actually been tweaking a famous quote by Thomas Jefferson, who said:

• I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

Developing a plan is part of making sure the things we have stimulated to change because of the impact of this virus will not be lost. We need to plan if the less we learn will not be lost moving into the future.

A management quote I remember from years back says it so succinctly: Prior Planning Prevents Potential Problems. From my perspective of faith I have added a sixth “P: Prayerful.” This fits in line with much of what the scriptures teach. Here are a few of the scriptural passages on plans from the Book of Proverbs.

• 16:1 The plans of the mind belong to mortals, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

• 16:3 Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

• 16:9 The human mind plans the way, but the LORD directs the steps.

• 19:21 The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established.

• 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.

We plan and those plans work best when they align with God’s plans. The often-quoted verse, Jeremiah 29:11, reminds us:

• For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.

Planning in dialogue with God is holy work. Plan the work. Work the plan. Plan.

Implement.

How many of our best intentions are lost because we do not act upon them. I love the story of Jesus and the ten lepers in Luke 17.

• Luke 17:12-14 (NRSV) 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" 14 When he saw them, he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. It was “as they went” they were made clean.

The underlying thought suggests if they had not implemented the direction their healing would not have taken place.

When Jesus was preparing to leave this earth, forty days after the resurrection, he gave very simple instructions to his followers. He told them to “GO…” Implement. Don’t allow the new life you have learned to die because you did nothing. GO…DO…Implement. So should we.

So, as you celebrate your stimulus check also do a “Stimulus Check.” Make it lead you to a better life, the type of life you want and God wants for you.