In times like this, we are all suffering. Some are suffering more than others, but we all are dealing with something. It is easy to forget about others as we have feelings of being overwhelmed with the disruption of our own lives. What we must remember though, is we are all in this together.
Let’s face it 2020 has not been a good year…to put it mildly.
We all had plans. It may have been a trip you were planning on taking. It may have been financial goals that will never be realized. It may have been getting that promotion that you had lined up this year. It may be that you were planning a visit, party or celebration with family or friends. Weddings are cancelled, sports are on hold, schools are closed, family reunions postponed, Easter is going to be spent at home. Heck you can’t even hold a funeral for a loved one right now!
Well, life is on pause for an indefinite period of time. Many things will not happen this year. It is disappointing, frustrating, and depressing. It is also the reality of the dire situation the world is facing and the sacrifices we must make to stop the spread of this $%&! virus.
Being quarantined in your house is tough. We all have good days and we all have bad days. In our family of 4, we have each had our moments of sadness, anger, fear and a myriad of other emotions. Luckily for us, it seems each person’s “rough patch” seems to occur on different days. It will probably be a matter of time before we all have our “moment” on the same day.
It is okay to cry. It is okay to scream. It is ok to be afraid.
On Wednesday of last week, our son was having his “moment”. A couple of neighborhood boys were throwing a football back and forth and our son was dying to join in the fun. When I told him absolutely no, he cannot play ball with his friends, he lost it. My otherwise kind and tenderhearted 8 year old screamed, “You are the worst mom in the world!” before running to his bedroom to cry. This sucks. Telling a 3rd grader he can only ride his bike on opposite sides of the street with his friends and can’t engage in normal daily play play is tough. Tough for him to process and tough to say for me. We are all craving human interaction (with people who don’t share our last name!) Missing birthday parties, entire seasons of lacrosse and kickball, playdates and an otherwise sense of normalcy sucks.
After our son cooled off we talked about how much we all hate this situation we are living in. Then we took a football shaped stuffed animal and and named it “Coronavirus”. We told the kids, “You can say anything you want to the Coronavirus. You can throw it. You can yell at it. You can punch it.” Heck, we even allowed cursing! It was exhilarating. We all had so much frustration pent up that stomping on a stuffed football and calling names felt ridiculously cathartic.
Kids are being homeschooled or learning remotely. Parents are working from home, often attempting to balance the demands of a full-time job while tending to small children or teaching. This has been an enormous challenge and stressor for almost everyone.
As tough as the abrupt changes to our lifestyles have been, we have to remember to be grateful for what we DO have. Our family has good health, food to eat, a house to live in, technology to have virtual happy hours, amazing neighbors and each other.
So, we will leave you with this thought. If there is ever a time for grace, it is now. One definition of grace is “courteous goodwill”. Whether it is in business, braving HEB or at home, we need to remember to be considerate of others. We are each struggling in our own way, so let’s remember to choose kindness.
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Romans 12:13 – “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” We are all in time of need right now. Let’s lend a helping hand to one another where we can in this challenging time.
Will & Laura Thomson
Enjoyed another excellent post!
Yes, it is differently a time for GRACE in so very many ways 🙏
Thank you again Reatha!
Beautiful reminder. Thank you.
Thank you Anne!