I actually started this post in March and forgot to post, some things have been changed, but really the heart of things is still where I'm at.I've been sitting here pondering a lot of things over the last couple months... hasn't everybody?
Decisions I've made, if I had known 4 months ago what was going to happen, would I have made the same choices about things. Maybe I would have, and maybe I wouldn't. It's hard to look back and guess. The reality, we only can make decisions on what we know, right now.
Right now, we can chose to cower, and live in fear. Or we can chose to trust God, and walk in faith, using wisdom in the days ahead. This has meant, stepping back in our life and doing our part to flatten the curve. This required what we thought would be a 2 week hold on our lives becoming 2 months before we could even begin to get back to 'normal life.'
I was among the unemployed due to the virus and it's restrictions and my little home based business works about 90% with restaurants so it went almost silent also. I was lucky, I was able to get unemployment, but I will be honest, I am very happy to be back at work, even though it is very different.
We all faced a lot of time on our hands, separation from those we care about, and loneliness, especially, for those, that like me, are in a house with no other human beings to talk to, it has been incredibly hard. And for me, the anniversary of Glenn's passing really amplified the quiet of my house. It physically hurt, I'm not gonna lie. All people need the human touch, that's the way God designed us.
I am thankful that we are blessed by the fact that we live in a day and age where this kind of thing doesn't have to leave us totally cut off though, we can chat with friends, by phone, texting, messaging or one of many forms of video chatting. And though I haven't been able to sit on a pew since March, through livestream I have been able to join with others in watching services, prayer meetings and worship times online, these all bring joy to my heart.
One perspective of this event is to look at this time as a pause, one that allows us to look around and count our blessings. It has given us time to read or listen to the Bible, and spend some time in prayer. We can join worship services electronically, listen and/or watch preaching, live and recorded via the internet. Using this time to grow closer to God. Maybe this virus is really the Lord slowing us down to get that 20/20 vision in our life, and for our life. I am believing that I will come out of this stronger in my walk with Him.
My heart for each of you today, take a moment, and goodness knows even as thing begin to "reopen" for many, there are lots of "moments" available, so use them to rest in the Lord, and if you don't know the Lord, grab a Bible and start with the New Testament, Psalms or Proverbs and start learning about Him. If you don't own one go to blb.org and you can read it online or listen to it, there are a lot of versions, my favorite is NKJV. Of course you can also ask me about Him or another person you know that has a relationship with the Lord-- most of us are more than happy to share the Good News of Jesus and what He did for us.
A final note here: In January I laid out some goals for myself that I posted in that blog... and I am happy to say that honestly, I am on track, not at the level I want to be, but much further in them than I might have been, had not the pruning of all of life's extra curricular activities happened- so in that case, maybe it was a good thing.
This thing's not easy, and I want to whine as much as the next person, and I have done my share of griping, but I began to consciously try to take those moments and refocus to prayer instead of complaint.- I still have a ways to go here.
I pray we all adjust to the "new" normal with hearts and ears that are ready to hear what the Lord speaks.
Have an amazing day and a Blessed week!
