When this is all over...

I've been wondering all week what God might be trying to do in our world right now.

Like, really, this is wild.

WILD!

What is happening?

Our nation is literally in a lock-down.

And we are experiencing a world wide pandemic.

Life just seems so surreal right now.

It's like we are all living in a bad dream but can't seem to wake up. Or a never ending snow day but we all want to go back to school.

I've been thinking...

What if God wanted us to just stop for a few weeks (or a few months) to really listen to what He's trying to say? What if life as we know it has been halted so we can experience Him even more? What if He is trying to show us the things we have been taking for granted all this time? Think about the things you used to complain about...

I bet you miss them right now.

Waking up early.

Having somewhere to go.

Toilet paper at Target.

Your annoying coworker.

Traffic.

Being busy.

I think a lot of people are freaking out right now because we are so used to be BUSY all the time.

We don't know what to do with free time because we're always busy.

And honestly, maybe some of us have been trying to escape the reality of our lives by staying busy. Because when you slow down...you have to address the hard stuff.

You have to sit with yourself and your own thoughts.

You have to have those hard and awkward conversations with your spouse that you don't want to have.

You have to sit in your loneliness and the fact that maybe you don't even like yourself. If there was ever a time to work on these things, it is NOW.

I've heard many complain about this "quarantine" thing.

Honestly, it's bothered the heck out of me.

I heard of someone who had to postpone her wedding, I have a friend who's having a baby in 2 weeks and more friends than I can count are about to (or have already) lose their jobs.

Could you imagine??

And you're complaining about being bored? Read a book. Learn a new language. Find a new hobby. People are literally dying in the world right now. And this "stay at home" thing?

This is actually some people's everyday lives. For those who are ill, must stay at home or live in hospitals for months on end, and the caregivers taking care of them....this is their "normal."

What you have been taking for granted others wish they could have. I think this week we are being reminded of our humanness.

We are being reminded that we are not in control.

Families need to come back together and be under the same roof again. Hard conversations need to be had. The dirty laundry need to be aired. Movie nights and family dinners need to be a priority. And maybe just maybe, instead of wishing away this time and wishing we could all get our lives back, we should learn to be content with living one day at a time. Because after all, even with full calendars and social schedules, we still had no idea what the future would hold a week ago.

We didn't have a clue.

And we think we have a lot more control than we actually do.

I know I for one feel very humbled because nearly everything I worried about in the last month has been postponed, shut down or cancelled.

Literally.

Every single thing.

So....

What is God asking of you in this time? Maybe you're trapped at home with your kids and it's CHAOS.

Maybe you are worried you are going to lose your job.

Maybe you've never felt lonelier in your entire life. I don't know what you're going through, but God sure does. And maybe God is just asking you to be still. To sit before him. To ask Him the hard questions and cry out to Him.

Maybe He wants us to come back to a daily abiding in Him. Whatever this time looks like for you, I pray that you would be able to see the silver linings.This could bring us back to the way life should be. This could bring our focus back to what TRULY matters.

Thank God for technology and FaceTime and screens...but after all of this...

Will relationships be deeper? Will we finally realize that we need each other? Will we finally realize that we were never meant to do life alone? Because really....at the end of the day....how is this any different from any other day?

Even with filled up calendar...what control did we ACTUALLY have? Exactly.

When this is all over, will we be a little bit more gracious?

Will we be a little more compassionate?

Will we be a little bit little bit more loving?

Will we give better hugs?

At the end of all of this, will we be better people?

So many thoughts running are through my head, but I knew I needed to share some of them.

Be well, friends. God is with us.

It's Lent after all. Easter is coming. Spring is coming. Hope is coming.

And you are not alone.

Xx

Elsa