I need some normalcy back in my life. I know the world is far from normal right now…so I’m not expecting that to happen, but I need to find “my” normal within the world’s new norm.
I don’t want to spend hours on my phone scrolling to see if there’s anything I need to know….but yet I do it. I do need to be knowledgeable about what’s going on, but how much do I really need to know and how do I sift through the truths and untruths? I enjoy the funny memes (the toilet paper hoarding and frantic homeschooling parents!)…..it’s good to laugh. As they say, laughter is good medicine.
As my handwashing skills and constant disinfecting increase, my healthy eating habits and desire to exercise decrease? Is there a connection here? I will have to contemplate this!
Time seems to be going very slowly. It feels like we’ve been shelter in place for months, when it’s actually been a little over a week! The numbers at our childcare are down right now due to parents either not working or temporarily working from home. The days seem longer when you’re not as busy! When childcare closes at the end of the day, my evenings are spent watching President Trump and Governor Newsome news conferences..then to bed. Yep….shelter in place, exciting times! Truth be told, I’d be doing that anyway, except for the news conferences, I wouldn’t be watching those.
Grocery shopping is something that has changed. I haven’t been out of the house since March 15th. Wow! It was our last church service and my last trip to the grocery store. My son, Josh does my grocery shopping now. He’s doing a great job….i did have to tell him to please not ever spend $5.50 on a box of cereal again!
Church service is now online. Last Sunday we invited all our family over to watch with us, then realized that that wasn’t keeping the shelter in place rule. So, those of us who live in the Furie compound watched together, with banana bread, donuts and coffee. The others watched in their own homes. You can find our church service @ https://youtu.be/aisehhpT3Fo.
It was a little surreal watching church from home, and sad, the type of sadness that reminds you that things aren’t as they should be.
That type of sadness reminded me of when my son was deployed to Iraq, especially his first deployment. I spent every waking moment thinking of him, praying for him, wondering where he was, if he was safe. I scoured the internet looking for news, even though I wasn’t really sure where he was. The uneasiness comes from realizing you have no control over the happenings in your life. Lots of us panic when we realize we have no control. I had no control over his safety and it was hard to have peace of mind. Much like I have no control over this virus, who it infects or how it affects our daily lives. I had to trust Jarrett into the Lord’s hands and what better hands for him to be in! That’s what we need to do now. Trust God. Our peace of mind will come only from the Lord. We have no control over this. We don’t know when this will end, but we know that it will. What we can know is that God loves us and we can trust Him….always.
Each one of us is going through our own search for normalcy amidst the uncertainty. Each of us is struggling with something different, some are unexpectedly unemployed, those who are still working are doing so at the risk of their health, some are homeschooling a house full of children, maybe you know someone who is sick, or you are fearful of you or a loved one becoming sick. Trips to the store are weird and unnerving. We need to extend grace to one another and extend grace to ourselves. It is a normal response to be fearful and anxious, but don’t let it consume you. Remember to trust, take a deep breath, refocus and trust. Pray for the Lord to give you peace and to help you stay focused on Him rather than the circumstances, pray for one another and for our country. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14
We need to find peace and rest in this unknown, because He knows!
The unknown…I’ve never been one that was comfortable with the unknown! But, I’m learning.
“May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
