2020. In my 63 trips around the sun, I've never experienced a year this daunting. In unprecedented fashion, our lives were shut down as effectively as if God himself hit pause. The only silver lining is we're all experiencing it together. There is a sense of support for one another. Extroverts suffered the most. Introverts were like: "Stay home? You got it. Teach on Zoom? Hot Dang! I'm all over that." Extroverts, like my spouse, volunteered to grocery shop for the elderly in their communities, grocery shopped for their spouse at higher risk. Anyway, to stay sane in a world gone awry. Sad you couldn't go to the gym anymore? Read books, play games with the kids, learn to home school. Exercise alone.
Many times I've rethought the God pause button thing. We were traveling too fast, losing sight of what was important, and we frustrated Him. Thus, He hit stop. Suddenly, the little things faded into a pale background and the big things glowed like the Broadway lights, which Covid had dulled. Everywhere we looked were the tops of heads as people focused on phones, tablets, and computers. We lost our center, our balance in life. Perhaps this was His way of re-centering us on what matters.
Family. Home. Pets. Volunteering. Care giving. Holding hearts when we could no longer hold hands built emotional bridges for all of us. I speak with my 87 year old mother every day. I play with my dogs in the yard. I watch the birds and the squirrels frolic. The sounds of the geese on the neighborhood pond lift my soul when the world feels like a dark place. A phone call from my sons lights my world in ways I'd forgotten. Never underestimate the importance of hearing your child's voice wishing you a good night or reminding you he loves you.
2020. When all aspects of life appeared to be drawn and quartered in some tragic medieval game, we grew still. We listened. We prayed. We learned.
Still...2020 needs to end.
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