Our Great Pause

“Stop the world, I want to get off.”

Our world has stopped and will stay that way for the foreseeable future.  What a year this has turned out to be. As we welcomed in 2020, nobody saw weeks of enforced isolation coming our way. Most of us are social beings. We enjoy getting out in public and sharing space with family and friends.

It’s a good thing that Charles and I get along 99% of the time and that our two-story condo gives us each a place to escape. 

There are some things I am learning about myself during this pause:

1.    I’m not as motivated as I should be. I have a hard time organizing my days when everything is out of sync. I can’t keep up with what day of the week or month it is.

Part of that is due to the change to Daylight Saving Time. I think I am still operating on Standard Time and annoyed that it is dark in the morning when its time to get up.

2.    I’ve become a procrastinator. If I don’t get it done today, I’ll have all day tomorrow to do it. So, I put it off another 24 hours and go to bed frustrated that I didn’t get anything done. I hope to get at least one or two projects accomplished during this down time. I’ll start tomorrow!

3.     I’m not real fond of cooking with no breaks for eating out.  With just the two of us, we had gotten into the habit of alternating eating out and eating at home.  We should save some money that we can spend on necessities like toilet paper—if we ever find any again at the store.

4.      I am very thankful for modern technology—at least most of the time.  When it works the way it is supposed to, I love it and when it doesn’t, I’m very impatient. It helps me stay connected to my friends, church, and family. I can bank and order groceries and other necessities from my cell phone. A lot of people can work from home and keep getting paid.

5.    I am vainer than I thought.  My growing hair and scraggly nails need attention and there is not an open spa in sight.  The Lord still needs to work on me in that area. 

6.     I am appreciative of our children and grandchildren who regularly check up on us and offer to get us anything we need.  We like to mask and glove up and tackle the grocery store on our own.  It’s our big outing for the week.

 I know that God oversees my life and what is going on in the world today. He loves me and wants me to learn from every experience in life. One thing I need to practice more is found in a verse in Psalm 46:10

  

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Be still means to stop striving, stop fighting, relax. It also means to “put your hands down”. Sometimes we put our hands up to defend ourselves from all that life can bring our way.”  (Bible Gateway)

  

According to the President, we will continue social distancing at least until the end of April.  Use this time to learn what God is teaching you during our great pause.