How would you ‘survive’ a lockdown? I came across two contrasting responses to three decades of ‘self-isolation.’ Admittedly, they were imposed from without and both are fictional.

A Story of two Lockdowns

The first was a movie I watched on Netflix called ‘The Endless Trench’ (there are some explicit sex scenes which I fast forwarded, plus some violence). It is a 2019 Spanish historical drama film [One reviewer writes this: “Although a fictional retelling, the film draws on the stories of many of those who hid behind false walls or floors in their homes, including Manuel Cortés, the former mayor of the village of Mijas, whose temporary hideout in his father's house became his prison for 30 years. …”] that tells the story of newlyweds, Higinio and his seamstress wife Rosa, and how Higinio has to take to hiding during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) under threat of his life, only a few months after their marriage. Rosa helps him to dig a hole under their floorboards in their home as a hiding place. She has to pretend that she doesn’t know where he had fled to and presume he is dead to the outside world. Higinio eventually moves to a bigger space when his father-in-law finds out the truth and builds a false wall in his home in the same village. Even after the war, Higinio has to continue to stay hidden because of a war time rival who has persisted throughout that he is alive and refuses to stop looking for him. This fear of potential retaliation leads to a 30-year confinement. Watching the couple age together under such strained conditions, with their son having to pretend his mother is his aunt and deny his father’s existence, makes for interesting viewing in a time like this when many families are being forced to live in close quarters. And it is clearly not just about Higinio’s plight of remaining hidden but how it impacts on Rosa and their son’s freedom. The film explores, not only the idea of being hemmed in but also the “psychological claustrophobia that develops between Rosa and Higinio.”. It made me think how each of our responses during this time have an impact on those around us, especially close family members.

Then I came across an article describing another imposed confinement, for the same period of time as Higinio, that is, three decades, but with a very different tone. Here it is below:

“The novel A Gentleman in Moscow tells of Count Alexander Rostov. As communists tighten control of Russia in 1922, Rostov’s aristocratic blood virtually guarantees he’ll be executed. But during his trial, the Court recalls a poem Rostov wrote years before on behalf of the working class. Rostov’s life is spared, but he is sentenced to spend the rest of his days confined to Moscow’s Metropol Hotel. If ever seen beyond its walls, he’ll be shot on site.
And so, Rostov embarks on a lifetime of limitation. The man who previously ventured across continents now cannot walk to the corner market. Accustomed to soaring ceilings, he now resides in a cramped attic.
Yet day by day, a marvel unfolds. Rostov doesn’t only survive. Amid the constraints of his new life, he thrives. He forges deep friendships and grows beyond himself. He loves and is loved. He transforms others’ lives and is himself transformed. One cannot help suspecting that three decades of boundedness did not shrink Alexander Rostov. If anything, limitation made his life larger.”

It made me think of another person, a true story this time, who also lived for just on three decades with limitations. A Lord who deliberately chose to “being born in the likeness of men,” laying aside equality with God he “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2: 7-8). Jesus didn’t have “soaring ceilings” but the infinite galaxies of the universe under his gaze and command. The God who is “very great…clothed with splendour and majesty, covering yourself with light as a garment, stretching out the heavens like a tent…makes the clouds his chariot…rides on the wings of the wind” could have established a world-wide ministry but confined himself to twelve motley men and a sliver of land under occupied rule. The Creator shrunk himself to a ‘condemned criminal’ (it is interesting with all this washing of hands that Pontius Pilate also “took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying “I am innocent of this man’s blood…” (Mat. 27:24). Pilate and his wife (27:19) knew Jesus was innocent and his action of washing hands was symbolic of this conviction).

And Jesus did this all voluntarily (John 10:17-18), even the cross (Mat. 26:52-54)! He did it out of love and to help us by being an example prompting Paul to write in Philippians 2:1-8: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ…having the same love…do nothing our of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves (NIV says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God…taking the very nature of a servant…) (The Message: “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death-and the worst kind of death at that-a crucifixion”).

As mentioned in my Sunday video, a book called The Common Rule looks into this idea that the good life doesn’t come from the ability to do anything we want but in choosing what we were made for. Hence Paul, in following Jesus, says: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone…” (1 Cor. 9:19). If Count Rostov, “Amid the constraints of his new life…not only survives…he thrives,” how much more the sons and daughters of God, having Jesus as our example and understanding Advocate, empathetic to our weaknesses (Heb. 4:14-16). Higinio eventually comes out of hiding in 1969 (33-years later!), a man who has shrunk in his own soul and his wife and son’s eyes. In our shorter time of confinement, will we be like Higinio or Count Rostov? It starts with a choice in our hearts and minds to embrace Christ’s example.

When Paul and Silas were beaten and then bound by their feet in prison (Acts 16:23-24), they chose to worship God (16:25ff). It is something God encourages us to do when the walls are closing in (“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You are my Strength, I sing praises to you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely” (Psalm 59:16-17). Worship gives us an expansive view of our King seated on His throne and reminds us of the final outcome to the biggest cosmic battle of all time. The killer virus that has been around since our dawn-sin- has already been defeated. You and I are already dead, we are ‘dead men walking,’ because we have “died to sin” (Rom. 6:6-11) but we have a beautiful source of life, true life, in our relationship with the Author of Life. Think what He did so that we can do it as well, not as perfectly but with His enabling grace (Heb. 4:14-16)!

Helpful Tips for Families with Kids

The following excerpt was taken from Gabe Philips’ blog post from Life Changers Church. The full blog post can be found here.

With schools and businesses shutting down for at least the next few weeks, having kids and family at home for extended periods (especially in a somewhat of a lockdown environment) could become a massive sense of frustration, getting on one another’s nerves and a stress point of note.

With that said, have a clear family game-plan of how each day will work, having different zones in the home and hours in the day for work and play. Routine is your family’s best friend!

HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR KIDS:

Here are some learning resources to help with having kids at home during this time:

*Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site with 20+ days of learning and activities.

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

*Pretend to travel the world. Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

*Everything from preschool activities to 12th grade is here!

https://allinonehomeschool.com/

*List of thinking games by grade:

https://allinonehomeschool.com/thinking/

*More awesome free learning websites:

https://www.starfall.com/h/