This week one kind person asked how my kids are faring with
all that is currently going on in the world. This question struck me, because
to be quite honest, nothing much has changed for my kids. We homeschool, so
school has been the same. We shop once a week for groceries, so that hasn’t
changed. We go to church online a good bit, so that hasn’t been any different. The
main thing that has changed is not seeing friends and family for play dates and
such. So, after reflecting on the ladies question my husband and I have decided
that we were social distancing before it was cool. While it may seem sad to you,
for us it really hasn’t been. This time of social distancing has been full of
purpose.
My social distancing started when I moved to a new city 8
years ago. I moved to a place where I knew no one except my husband and his
family. While I tried to stay in contact with friends, it just wasn’t the same
as seeing them in person. I did keep a close relationship with my mom, dad,
brother, sister and soon to be sister-in-law. Please don’t think that I was
without social fun though. I worked to meet new people and built friendships.
My plans of building strong relationships was thwarted by
the first rumbles of my battle with Lyme disease. I was so tired that I didn’t
have the energy to put into building relationships. I was also pregnant with our
first child. Then our sweet baby girl was born and honestly, I only wanted to
spend time building a relationship with her. So, although we were involved in a
local church and small group, we still felt like our little circle of
relationships wasn’t growing.
As many of you know, my battle with Lyme was very debilitating.
I had to cancel more plans than I got to follow through with. My group of
relationships got smaller and smaller. Let me pause for a moment and just say
that I am forever grateful for the precious relationships that God did give
during this time. I am thankful that I didn’t have many friendships to maintain
during this time. It was an exhausting time and just attending to daily life
was sometimes more than I could handle.
So, here we are in a mandatory time of social distancing. You
may wonder why I shared a bit about my lack of relationships. Well, I have looked
back over that time and thought about a few things I have learned about God. I
think the things that He taught me may be of value for the time that we are
living in now and I just wanted to share.
The first thing that I learned is that God created seasons.
Yes, He made seasons that are marked on a calendar, but I mean seasons of life.
He takes us through seasons of great joy, sorrow, waiting, movement, health and
sickness. If the God of the universe made seasons, then He must have a purpose
for each one, right? I believe that He does have purpose for every moment of our
lives. The sooner we embrace and walk with grace through each season the sooner
He brings the next one. I always refer to my time of sickness as my season of
Lyme. It was a season! And this is a season of social distancing. It will not
last forever. It will end. So take heart, another season is on its way.
The next thing that God taught me is that times of isolation
are for God. Yes, He is jealous for your time. He wants to have a growing relationship
with you. I tell my kids often that they were created because God wanted a
friend just like them. And this is truth. He wants you to be His friend. Sometimes
the seasons of slowness are there to remind you how much He wants to know you.
So, press into time with Him during this season of slowness.
Which leads me to the
next thing I learned. Stillness does not mean inactivity. Over and over in
scripture, God asks us to be still, to rest. This is not something that I find
enjoyable. I am a mover and a shaker. My mind is always at work and my body isn’t
too far behind. However, during my season with Lyme, I had no choice but to be
still and rest. Seriously, I had a compromised immune system, I had to have
people grocery shop for me. I didn’t leave my house. Yikes! While this seemed
like a nightmare at first, I heard God say to take this time to learn. So,
after much arguing, I agreed to learn. He taught me how to be a better mom and
wife. He taught me about great loss. He taught me how to pray for others. He
taught me how to research like my life depended on it (because in many ways it did).
He taught me about grace for those who have walked before me. He taught me so
many things that I should write a book (maybe one day I will). In my stillness
and rest before God, there was never inactivity. He was always teaching me
something. So, take this time to learn from God. What have you been wanting to
learn? What has He been trying to teach you?
One last thing that God walked me through is how to be
joyful and content in all circumstances. There are seasons of singleness,
marriage, motherhood (or fatherhood), being young and being old. Each season is
so valuable. Each season should be respected and enjoyed to the fullest. I
think of my kids and how eager they are to get to their next birthday. They want
to get to the next step. However, with that mindset, there are joys that are
missed. For my kids they may miss the joy of building forts outside if they are
too worried about how many days until the next great adventure camping. Being
content with the season is the only way that you can also be joyful in that
season. This one is so hard, but probably the most valuable lesson of all the
lessons that God poured into me. I encourage you to find contentment in this
moment. What is something that you are thankful for during this time of social
distancing? Having trouble? Thank God for your basic needs. I promise you will
find more to be thankful for. All this thanking God will then breed
contentment. Then joy will flow as a result.
Well, dear friends, I am praying that you and yours are
healthy and well. I pray that these crazy thoughts from an equally crazy gal
help to encourage your heart. I pray God blesses you!
I will end with this thought from the Psalms:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in
trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the
mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and
the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make
glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within
her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in
uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty
is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has
done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the
ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the
shields with fire. He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted
among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is
with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”-Psalm 46
