+27 (11) 867 3505 church@bbcmail.co.za

My hair grows both thick and quick, so I generally have it cut every 3–4 weeks. I didn’t get to my barber before the lockdown, so the other day I asked my wife if she would help me out.

Jill is gifted in a multitude of ways. She’s one of the most courageous women I know, who will attempt anything for those she loves. Her attitude, when it comes to serving those she loves, is, “You do what you gotta do”—including giving haircuts.

I pulled out my Wahl hair trimmer, put the setting to Number 5, plugged it in, and sat down with great confidence, knowing I was in good hands. I was right: I was in good hands. Unfortunately, I was not in skilledhands. As the hair began to fall into my lap, I was jolted to reality when she said, “Oops,” followed by muffled laughter. That’s not exactly what you want to hear from a barber. I knew I was in trouble.

As I enquired about the damage, she assured me that the mishap would be covered by my ears and, over time, by the growth of more hair. You can be the judge when my preaching is livestreamed this weekend. (On second thought, this may be a good time for audio only!) You may have heard the saying, “He has a good face for radio.” Well, I now also have a good hairstyle for radio.

All joking aside, these past two weeks of lockdown have forced us to adopt the mindset, “You do what you gotta do.” Many of us are doing chores around the house that perhaps others have previously done on our behalf. Many of us have needed to utilise our home as an office, which has required some big adjustments. As an eldership we have adapted to telephonic shepherding rather than the face-to-face kind. Several of us have transformed our balconies or gardens into gyms or running tracks. Parents of younger children have become teachers since the schools have been closed. Perhaps some have had to ration groceries in order to avoid going to the shops and all of us, perhaps to some degree, have learned to adjust to eating in rather than dining out.

The point is that we have learned to adapt. We have had to attempt things that either we have never done, or that we have not done for a long time. But we have learned to “do what we gotta do.”

I suspect that one of those is in the area of personal and family devotions. Related to this, perhaps you are now praying through the church directory and contacting people in ways that you have not previously done. Perhaps we neglected these things before the lockdown but with it we have chosen to “do what we gotta do,” and all of us are better off for it.

With the lifting of lockdown, some things will return to normal. I’ll return to my barber and she’ll do what she needs to do (i.e. repair work).  But I hope none of us will give up our devotions and our praying for and reaching out to one another, for these are areas where we will always need “to do what we gotta do.”

Doug