Rethinking ‘canceled’ in an age of coronavirus

MISSIONARY LIFE
March 2020

By Beth Eckstein in Taiwan — My husband frequently endures long kidney stone ordeals. Intense pain can come on at the drop of a hat and we are off to the ER. My first goal in caring for my husband in those moments is finding him pain relief. Once we've accomplished that objective, my next goal is to cancel all the phone calls, meetings, lunches, and appointments we have. I have the same refrain going through my mind every time: What a waste of time.

We always feel like we have nothing to show after a kidney stone incident. Instead, we have a week of missed opportunities, regrets, and cancellations. But it strikes me that perhaps we aren't measuring productivity the same way God does. We often emerge from these episodes with compassion for others, new insights, fresh perspectives on suffering, and a reordering of our own priorities.

This is a different kind of productivity.

With the emergence of the COVID-19, people worldwide are experiencing these same feelings. You may have had meetings, trips, and large events canceled. You may be dealing with the uncertainty of how and when things will go back to normal. Even if you and your loved ones are fortunate to not fall ill or to face serious economic repercussions from the response to the virus, the disappointment of these missed opportunities is real.

But what if we reframed the word canceled? In mathematics, an equation is balanced when one side "cancels out" the other side. We are being forced to slow down, and this slowing could help us "cancel out" some of the effects of our normally busy lives. What canceling out have you been in desperate need of?

One of our workers has struggled with asthma attacks for the past few months. When schools in her area closed, she wrote, “Honestly, a few weeks downtime is a gift after an intense period of ministry, so I'll take it gratefully. My lungs have not been functioning well for three months. A respiratory infection is the last thing I need and could potentially land me in hospital. So I'm settling down to rest and stay at home as much as possible.”

We must remember that God is still working during all these cancellations. During seasons of transition, God often does a deeper work in us so he can do a bigger work later on. We don't become better people in haste—in fact, I'm not sure we do anything better when we are in a hurry.

If you’re forced to slow down because of COVID-19, here are a few ideas for using the time to serve others and to grow deeper with God:

  • Take one of your canceled events and replace it with a Day Alone with God.
  • If you’re healthy, consider how you can serve people at higher health risk—perhaps by delivering groceries to front porches or by wiping down frequently touched surfaces if your church is still meeting.
  • Read deeply about a topic that has interested you recently. Check out the SEND U blog for recent book reviews on things like Discipling in a Multicultural World .
  • Reach out through phone calls (or the online equivalents) to those who are self-quarantining.
  • If you live overseas, observe how your host culture is responding to COVID-19. What insights does this give you into their cultural beliefs and practices? How are they different from yours? (If you live in your passport country, you can ask yourself similar questions about your own community!)


Missions coaches help SEND missionaries not just survive, but thrive. Click below to speak with a coach who can get you started on the path to global missions.

Contact a mission coach
SEND’s member care department provides personalized support for each of our missionaries and their families throughout their careers. Read about some of the benefits of serving with SEND.


Additional Posts

By Erin Brown June 3, 2025
Over the past few weeks, I had the privilege of joining several SEND leaders on a deeply moving survey trip through Myanmar and Nepal. This journey wasn’t just about exploring ministry opportunities—it was about listening, learning, and witnessing firsthand how God is at work in some of the most complex and challenging corners of our world.
We asked three of our SEND International missionaries to describe the spiritual climate
By Erin Brown May 22, 2025
We asked three of our SEND International missionaries to describe the spiritual climate in the communities where they serve. Here's what they said...
From Siberian winters and language barriers to pandemic isolation and regional conflicts, our missio
By Emily Westcott April 23, 2025
From Siberian winters and language barriers to pandemic isolation and regional conflicts, our missionaries share deeply personal moments of doubt, spiritual stretching, and questioning their calling.
Show More