Social Distancing

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