Great Adaptations: A Cautionary Tale About Pigeons and How I Found my Wings with Church Online

Back in pre-pandemic times, I was caught up with a crowd heading into NYC on a Friday night. The last adjective I would think to describe this scene would be “quiet,” but for some reason, as soon as we all boarded the train it was as if someone hit a mute button. The cause? An elderly gentleman hunched over, fast asleep, holding an accordion. New Yorkers are pretty amazing at adapting to survive. 

I think that is why God chose to drop me, someone whose primary fears are social interactions and forgetting people’s names, right smack in the middle of NYC. Despite my glaring social ineptitude, God still asked me to stop and pray for people. It was trial by fire. 

One particular person was a regular at Port Authority. She would sit on the ground, lost in thought, a cup extended for loose change. I got up the courage to ask her if she wanted prayer one day and she eagerly accepted. So I sat next to her and then heard a booming voice.

 “Stand up!” It was a police officer across the hall. Rush hour was descending as a mob.

To my horror, as I stand up, the woman belligerently yells back at the poor police officer, “I’m praying!!”

“You can pray standing up!”

So, now, with the attention of every commuter in Port Authority, I forget the woman’s name and request, have visibly upset a police officer, and have subsequently lost all the feeling in my arms and legs.

Evangelism is a tough road for introverts.

Over the 12 years I lived in the city I let God push me and I slowly adapted. It was the foundation for me being comfortable being on the prayer team at my next two churches, but the anxiety always remained.

Fast forward to 2020. As soon as it was announced that our church was not going to meet in person, I asked to be part of the Prayer Team for Church Online. I had never even watched our church online before, but I was desperate to continue serving and attending church when everything else was in upheaval. 

Our Church Online crew graciously took me under their wing and every week I had the privilege to pray for people at the 9am service. As people watch the service, they can comment and engage with each other in a chat feed and if they needed prayer they just needed to hit the “request prayer” button and they were sent into a chat room with a prayer team member. No worries about forgetting names, they are on the screen. No worries about fumbling with words, you can edit as you type. I was hooked after my first Sunday and did whatever I could to make sure I was on the schedule every week. This stability, this family that I met for the first time in March, was part of how I survived the lock down and the rest of 2020.

Even though this was a great surprise to me, it wasn’t a surprise to God. I forget sometimes that since He made me, He KNOWS me. Not only that, He has a continuous plan for my life that even a pandemic can’t stop.

He reminded me of NYC pigeons— those cautionary adaptation tales who move like they are sculling an invisible skiff. On my commute one day, I watched the doors of the subway open to reveal two pigeons, who strutted onto the subway car, took it to the next stop strutted out, having lined themselves up perfectly with the staircase like subway-riding pros. I have seen  their counterparts hopping up an entire flight of stairs at Penn Station and looking both ways before crossing the street. They adapted to fit their NYC environment, but in the process forgot they had wings.

This forced pivot to Church Online made me realize that God did not want me to continue to wrestle with my anxiety. My Abba Daddy, who gives good gifts, had been preparing me to hand me the next thing, the better thing. My stress level plummeted and my enjoyment of praying for people increased. As a writer and an introvert I found that the yoke became easy and the burden light, because my gifts, skills, and preferences were lined up and I could just focus on serving. No more anxiety distracting me. No more operating like my wings are clipped. (Also no more having to change out of pajamas and beg my child to wear pants, but that is a blog for another time…)

So, introverts of the world unite! Church Online allows us to be evangelists in all good senses of the word. Despite what happens with COVID, I have found my groove in ministry. I have fallen in love with how God is using phone and computer screens to help His Kingdom break through in unexpected places.

Someone asked me what my word of the year was. I have never had a word of the year in the past, but this year I pick “pigeon”—a reminder as I turn my back on 2020 not to settle for walking when God’s plan is for me to fly.

What is yours?

Lord, thank you that nothing is a surprise to You. You knew what was coming and You prepared our church and me to be able to pivot in an emergency by establishing Church Online pre-COVID. Thank You for Your ability to use every experience, every type of person, and every resource to reach every person with Your love. Thank You that no matter what happens, Your Kingdom will break through, even in pixels. Amen.