3/28/2021 0 Comments March 28th, 2021Oh what a year it has been and we aren’t even through March! We emerged from the pandemic in peace with the promise of prosperity on our lips and hope in our hearts… Oh wait, let me try again.
We started the NewYear believing that man had learned from the folly of our past and was now prepared for the bright, shiny reset that was so long in coming… No? Not quite that either. Well at least we aren’t living in a dystopian future where children are forced to fight to the death while the world watches. As far as I can tell, no one knows what the future holds and no one can stop it from coming. The uncertainty that held me hostage in 2020 has leveled off to an odd sense of pensive hopefulness. It’s the angst of wanting better and believing for more, but expecting less and needing little. I believe that my lowered expectations come from living in unprecedented times during historic conditions. Everything from the winter storms to the record rainfall to the pandemic that just can’t take a hint, whatever is happening is newsworthy and earth shattering. It's an amazing time to be alive, and I’m just about over it. Living through these historic happenings is not the joy ride that any of us hoped. I bet the people in Pompei thought the same thing. No one stopped for a selfie in front of the volcano and marveled at the beauty of the lava that flew through the sky, they ran for their lives. Maybe that is what this has felt like over the past year, the world’s slowest sprint to save ourselves. Just when we run past the fear of one form of disaster, we plow head long into another unpresented event caused by weather, the economy, or ourselves. Boy do I need a vacation! That’s why I’m writing again. I don’t have the money for a trip to the bahamas and I’m not sure they are open yet, but I do have the time to do the things I enjoy. I think we all do. I enjoy writing even though I’ve received criticism about my haphazard way of blogging. I’ve decided that I don’t care. When my son quit school in 2020, he said that the pandemic had taught him life was too short to not follow your dreams. As a mom, I was shocked that he was quitting and proud that he had such wisdom. As time wore on, the pride ebbed a bit and “Mom” worry took over as I panicked about his future. I now realize that I am in the same place. I’ve been stressed out and concerned about the history making events taking place around us and lost track of myself in the process. Isn’t one of the hallmarks of being a Christian supposed to be our ability to remain calm in a crisis because of our faith? If I truly believe the things I read, it's time to act like it. All the anger and angst in the world won’t change a single thing going on around me unless I act in love. Even then, things might not work out the way I would like. The only thing or person I have the ability to change is myself. And one way to start that process is self care. How often do I neglect what is needed to do what is urgent for someone else. In this journey of jumping from one crisis to another, I have to do the things that give me energy. The blogging, singing, and walking that I gave up because no one else saw the point had to make a comeback for me to be fully who I am. We all need to get back to the things that bring us joy. The world is about to experience a hard reset that will leave all non-believers wondering what the hell just happened. How are we as believers handling this time in the interim? Are we grousing over the world gone mad or enjoying the ride? I’ve been overworked and stressed and feeling an amount of burn out that I never thought possible, but that is changing. When the way I react to the things around me more closely resembles the way the world reacts to things, I know I need to change. Self care isn’t just a new age phenomenon that the church should shun, it's a tool that will make us better witnesses in this world. So bring on the next earth shattering event that we will experience in these unpresented times, I’ll be slowly strumming my guitar and free writing until I gain my footing. And then I will get up from my moment of peace and conquer the next obstacle in my path. Life’s too short to do otherwise.
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AuthorI am a Christian, a wife, a mom, and a part-time basket case who wants to be a full time writer.
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