I had a different beginning on this post but I watched “Today” anchor Hoda Kotb break down in tears following an interview with NFL star Drew Brees this morning. We are just all overwhelmed with emotion right now. Fear, anger, gratitude, exhaustion, boredom, love – all of it. That’s OK. None of us knows how to handle a global pandemic. It’s a little like having a baby – even when you think you’re prepared, you’re not. You can really never be prepared for something you’ve never experienced.
You have permission to feel what you feel, but please be generous about extending grace so others can too. We’re all processing our first pandemic. None of us know exactly how this will turn out. And we have a divide on how we’re experiencing it. I’m non-essential to functioning society, so I’m home doing what I can – processing my own feelings and searching out hope.
A friend sent a text to check on me earlier this week and we wound up having a brief chat about some opportunities we’re taking advantage of while hunkered down at our respective homes. She just wanted to know how I was coping with the challenges of this new normal. We talked for a second about the challenges of getting the kids on the right routine to do schoolwork at home, the cleaning, eating and just living in this situation.
Quickly, though, the chat turned to the benefits of being forced to stay home. Time spent with family. Time to tackle projects at home. Time to take advantage of some growth opportunities that are available online because so many of us are sequestered at home. I thought nothing else about it until I was taking my daily walk the following morning. I was noticing how some of the blooms on the flowering trees were growing. One caught my attention early in the walk and then I just kept noticing.
The blooms are opening more toward the sun. Shocking I know. It’s like the areas that get more shade are a few days behind the side that gets the sun. We know flowers do the same thing, and we need to turn them toward the sun sometimes. Actually, a lot of life seems to work that way. If you’re tanning, it’s crucial to turn over at some point. If you’re cooking something, you frequently need to stir it or flip it to ensure that it’s cooked through. All sides need some attention.
You guys many of us have been gifted the chance to turn over for a minute. Some other parts of our life are getting a chance to be exposed to the light and cooked through. I don’t want to discredit the seriousness of why we’re in this situation, assume that everyone has as much newfound time at home as everyone else or that everyone’s time at home is safe and comfortable. However, if I’m going to make the most of this time, then I want to see it as a chance to let some lesser-tended parts of my life get a little sun.
Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything. Isaiah 43:19 comes to mind for me. “Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
This time definitely feels a bit like the wilderness or a never-ending desert. It all looks the same. It’s hard to keep track of what day it is when so little is distinguishing one from the next. Is that just me? I don’t think so. I know you’ve seen that meme that reminds us all when we need to change from daytime pajamas to nighttime pajamas. I’m sure all the “essential” people are so busy they’ve lost track of days as well.
None of us has a handbook with the right way to do everything or handle every situation. We miss our usual life. I miss mine, too. I miss times and experiences that I feel cheated out of. My boys should be learning in school from actual teachers, playing their spring sports, enjoying time with their friends, and the end of a school year. They’re not. We all have things we’re missing. It might even leave some scars.
In so many ways, though, we’re getting a chance to turnover. God is making that road in the wilderness. We’ve taken family walks. I’ve spent time showing my kids how to do some cooking. They’ve done their own laundry from start to finish. They’ve played in the backyard with their Dad. I’ve been able to participate in an online training that I never would have had the time or maybe even the resources to do in my normal life.
I know friends who have cleaned out closets, painted rooms, completed craft projects or exercised for the first time in a long time. Many of today’s children are getting experiences that they simply have never had. Some are staying home by themselves. Others are getting to have family dinners and see more of their parents. I know others who are stepping up and doing new chores and learning new skills.
This is definitely not the way most of us would choose to give our lives a turn toward the light, but the turn was needed just the same. Goodness how so many of us have just needed the chance to be at home. The chance to turn the inside of our lives to the sun just a bit. My family time needed some attention.
I expect the wilderness will end eventually. We will get back to our regular schedules. Shopping, sports and events will go back to replacing walking through our neighborhoods and talking to neighbors. Our kids will go back to their various sports, lessons and activities instead of learning how to make applesauce or to crochet or pull weeds or do laundry. They’ll be back to focusing more on themselves and less on what others are doing. We’ll wonder when we can sit down for family dinners again.
It’s not a vacation. We’re almost all being impacted in some way. We’re separated from high-risk family. Our finances are suffering. Our mental health is taking a hit. It’s unlikely that many of us will come through this entirely unscathed. But the majority of us will get through it. Hopefully, we can look back with some small bit of appreciation for the road in the wilderness, the opportunity to turnover and the chance to give the shady spot a little time in the sun.
