Silver Lining

I know all we've been hearing about is the Coronavirus - its exhausting.  In a couple of days, we went from being pretty chill about the whole thing to having schools closed and social gatherings limited, sports and events of all kinds cancelled and not toilet paper anywhere.  It all feels pretty crazy.

I'm not generally a very excitable person - I tend to get the facts and arrive at my own conclusion rather than have a knee-jerk emotional response.  I have been doing my best to gather info the last few days and also to try to sort between hysteria and truth.  I have become convinced of a few things.

1.  A lot of people in America will get the Coronavirus - most of them will be fine, but not all.
2.  The biggest concern is that medical facilities and personnel will be overrun and unable to keep up with the number of cases requiring acute care.
3.  WE CAN HELP.  All the data points to social distancing being key to slow the spread.

I, like most of you I'm sure, was irritated when my daughter's (who is a dance major - how do you that online??) university converted to online classes and then subsequently my middle and high school kids schools were shut down by the Governor.  I have a daughter who is a senior in high school - will she not be able to walk across the graduation stage??

But, the more I read and listened, the more I got it.  Proactive closings and distancing will be MUCH more helpful than reactive ones.  I am not afraid of the coronavirus on a personal level, but I am part of a society that is much bigger than me personally - the best way I can show my care for others is to throw my hat in the ring and do my best to slow the spread.

So, we will.  My husband and I run a lacrosse club that literally just had its first game Thursday.  But, we sent out an email to cancel activities for at least the next two weeks (in keeping with the Governor's mandate) and sent out some suggestions to keep the players busy at home.  We were sad - our lacrosse loving boys are sad.  But, if this inconvenience can keep others safe - it is the least we can do.

I was contemplating it all this morning and the silver lining of the whole thing crashed down on me.

I am at home - practicing social distancing - but, I can still talk to all of you.  My kids will be stuck at home, but they too can talk to their friends.  If need be, they can do school at home online and they can still have access to teachers through chat rooms and online learning platforms.  THAT IS AMAZING.  This will be tough, I think, but we are in so much better of a position to weather it as a society than we were even 20 years ago. 

I am frustrated and sad and inconvenienced, but I am also grateful.  It's what I've said all along - technology isn't all bad. :)

Wash your hands, friends, and let's chat - online.

The Long Game

Do you ever feel like you are behind in life?  You check out the landscape around you - your friends and their accomplishments, your friend's children and where they are in life, your financial situation, the state of your health, how your happiness measures up to other people's perceived happiness which is always on display via social media?

Of course you do.  We all do.

In this modern society, impatience is at an all time high.  For some reason, we all think we deserve ALL THE THINGS right now.  But man.  The older I get, the more I realize that life is the long game - not to be cliche, but it truly is about the journey, not the destination.

I worry for folks today who are rushing to get to some imaginary finish line where they think they will be happy. No.  Happiness is today.  It is the people you love, the work you do, the faith you embrace.  It is not an absence of trouble or challenges.  It is not the perfect house, fancy car, perfect body.

Faith is the same.  I am a follower of Jesus, but the longer I follow Him, the more I realize that faith is also not about a destination - it is about what you learn along the way, and who you are becoming.  Many young believers seem to have the idea that faith is an easy fix for what ails them.  No, my friends, faith is a relationship.  And like most relationships, it gets finer with time, and stronger because of adversity.

The Bible is full of the stories of people who waited years, decades even, to see the promises of God fulfilled.  We have trouble waiting for our food in a drive-thru line.  But, you know, our present circumstances don't change God.  He does not change His ways to accommodate our perceived time table.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He created the long game and did it with us in mind.

Take a deep breath - masterpieces, like you and me, they cannot be rushed, and they are well worth the wait. 

In The Whisper

I was driving Pierce to school this morning and he turned to me and asked, "Mom, what has been the busiest year of your life?"
I thought hard trying to pinpoint one, but I finally said, "Gosh honey, I dont know, I feel like I've been busy for a looonnnggg time."
He sighed.  This has been his busiest year so far, he shared, and he is wondering how to handle it, and if it will ever get better.

It was not lost on me that I was having this conversation with my 13 year old 7th grader.  Did I wonder these things at his age?  I don't think I did.  I think life is more fast paced now than it used to be and that pressure affects younger people more than it used to.  The voices in society (made louder by constant online access) scream at us to work harder, do better, prioritize, rest, exercise, eat well, have meaningful relationships, drink water, eat organic, for gosh sake DO IT ALL AND DO IT BETTER.

It's exhausting.

I was so glad to be able to share with him that although his life will probably always be busy, there is a place he can go for relief. 

"...but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper."  I Kings 19:12

When life rises up and seems like it is too much and you feel you will cave under the pressure, I told him, you just need to take a minute and listen for the whisper.

God didn't promise a lack of storms, He just promised to be present in them.  To uphold us, encourage us, strengthen us and see us through to the other side. Every. Single. Time.

I am a little sad that my kids are growing up in such a tumultuous time, but I am so happy to be able to point them to where peace is - just follow the whisper, my 13 year old, He will never let you down.  💜