How is everyone handling the extra time at home in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? Are you feeling burdened with restrictions or are you finding the blessings amongst the chaos? This event has brought out so many different emotions for each person it has effected – which I believe is probably everyone at this point. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day drama of the news media, and that certainly isn’t going to help you find your calm during the chaos.
I know parents have lost jobs or are now working from home, students and teachers are being thrown into remote learning, thousands of businesses and services are closed, and we feel like we are “stuck” at home. There is also the lingering fear of the virus itself. However, rather than focus on the negatives, my family has decided to try and make the best we can out of a bad situation. Each family is different, but these are the things that we have found comfort in.
- We know that God is in control and our focus needs to remain on Him!
- We need to stop and count our blessings each and every day!
- We can use this time to show our kindness to others in both words and actions
- We should not keep ourselves so busy going that we forget to slow down and spend time with each other
- Having a home to “stay home” in is something we need to give thanks for – not everyone has a home or if they do, it might not be a home they feel safe and loved in
- We are blessed with many family and friends – who we plan to spend more time with when all of this is over!
- Our nation is one of excess – we own way too many things! Keeping life simple is where true happiness lies
- There are always those less fortunate than we are and we need to reach out and help them when possible
- We use the words “I’m hungry!” and don’t really know the pain of actually going hungry. We might not get what we want to eat, but we always have something to eat!!
- Being able to travel the country freely and enjoy God’s creation is something we want to enjoy more of…….in our camper of course!
- We live together but we are still learning things about each other as we grow and change. Each person in the family has their talents to contribute.
- Technology takes up way too much of our time! However, we are very thankful to have it right now to stay in touch with those we love, and take care of the necessary business (school, bills, shopping, etc). We do need to place more limits on how much time we allow ourselves to be “taken” by TV, Facebook, texting, video games, etc.
- Laughter truly is the best medicine – enjoy one another by playing games, watching a movie, reading a book, playing outside, or just plain being silly and laughing for no reason!
- We take our medical system and capabilities for granted – having hospitals and doctors to help us when we are sick is a huge blessing. God has allowed for the advances in medicine that can prolong life, and not everyone has that available to them due to location or cost.
- We are not alone!! Every person around us has been affected by this pandemic in some way. Instead of looking inward at our problems, look around and see what we can do to help others that are in our same situation or even worse.
This list of comforting thoughts could continue on for paragraphs…….but I won’t do that to my readers. I hope that you found something in the list that made you “check” your attitude and outlook right now. Sometimes we get so caught up in the negative that we completely overlook the positive. If you are home with your loved ones, ENJOY this time. Tell them that you love them and make fun memories together!! Yes, our kids will be able to tell stories of the pandemic someday, but they need to have as many happy ones as they do unhappy ones. How will they remember your home during this time? Was it the place they could find calm during the chaos?
May God bless this country we live in and may He bless us with wisdom, patience, and endurance during this historical event.
