Life at a Standstill

Life is so different now isn't it?

This morning I saw this on my dining room table... a family devotional, a Bible and a face mask.  These seem to be the things that define us in these days... family, faith, and isolation.

I‘m gonna be straight up honest... I HATE THE ISOLATION PART!

Being a Enneagram 7-8 is so hard right now... I just wanna feel a "people" vibe.  (Video conferencing comes close but it is not quite there.) I want to be with people.  That is the "7" in me

Now the 8...  this is the challenge.  I understand that I have to remain isolated for the good of people.  I also understand that the more I isolate the quicker this goes.  I really do understand the reasoning. But being an "8" makes me want to challenge everything and say... "I don't care! I want to see people!"  In my mind everyone else is wrong... and everything in me wants to tell everyone else how to do it...and then just throw caution to the wind and have a party!

Right here is where I need to breathe, and continue to remind myself of a few things....

Timothy 1:7  "for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but power and love and self-control"

I need to remember to use wise judgement and prayer in all decisions.  Right now it is true that our world is full of fear, suspicion, and anger; but I have the Spirit of God (in the form of the Holy Spirit) inside of me.  He will guide and direct me.  I do not need to be ruled by the emotions of the day... I need to ruled by Him.  All of "this" is still under His control.  I must turn to Him for discernment and direction.

I all too often allow the "mood" or the "vibe" from people around me to guide my decisions.  (again that is the people person in me).  I am learning that God has placed me right where I am to be full of hope and light in the darkness of this world not to get sucked into the hopelessness of the world.  

Hebrews 10:25: "and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works; not neglecting to meet one another as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as the day draws near."

This is the hardest thing for me to work out in my brain right now.  This looks ALL DIFFERENT!! We can't gather together, we can't be in another's presence right now and it FEELS SO WRONG!  But what does it mean?  How can I continue to use my gifts of hospitality in this time?

I have had to learn some hard lessons in this season of life right now.  Not everyone is as comfortable "ignoring the rules" and just getting together as I am.  (Boundaries anyone?) Honestly, at first that bothered me... why was everyone so afraid?  Then as time goes on, I realize that maybe... just maybe... I have to think differently. I am still not afraid to have others over (in small groups mind you) but I have come to understand that I must respect others boundaries. I can still use my gifts of hospitality, just in other ways.  I began to ask the Holy Spirit for different ideas... you know what?  He gave me some different ideas!  Sure; does hospitality look like I thought it did?  Nope not at all!  But I will continue to do what is put before me in this season.

Added bonus...the Holy Spirit directed us to some folks who were ok with gathering... safely and in small numbers, and very spread out... but still they were willing.  That meant a lot to me!

Deuteronomy 6:12 "Then take care lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the hand of Egypt"

We are all dealing with our stuff; anxiety, stress, loss of control, anger... you name it!  I am too!  I worry about my family being able to find toilet paper, ground beef and pasta as much as the rest of you.  I am stressed about trying to get my ADD kiddos on a normal routine with this whole new world of "homeschool."  I feel the loss of control as the government keeps telling me what I cannot do.  I feel anger when people don't have the same boundaries as I do.  But I need to remind myself these are all things that I cannot change.  These are things that I cannot fix.  But God can.  I am no longer a slave to anxiety, stress, loss of control and anger, it is the Evil One who continues to bring me back there! So instead I will choose to find the good amid the crisis...

**we are together as a family.... I am always saying how busy I am... now I am not!

**we are able to have family dinners again... all the activities are cancelled

**we are working from home.... we are not on the front lines.... thank you to all those who are essential

**we are spending more time in God's Word... I am always saying I wish I had more consistency... now I do

**our schedule is so much more relaxed... I am glad for this.... it allows a lot of spontaneous activities

**piano practice, showers, laundry, grocery shopping.... all of it can happen at anytime and we are not frustrated trying to find the smallest bit of time for them

**house projects... all those little things like organizing and cleaning out... YAY!!

**we get to sleep in

**we aren't using as much gas money

**we continue to have our jobs

**our kiddos teachers are doing amazing things with the kiddos during this stressful time

**we have found new ways to reach out to our close friends and family even if we cannot be with them during this time

**we have not run out of toilet paper yet (and we didn't hoard buy any either)... although we might need some toothpaste soon. 😂

** finally I have time to write again... 

So.... what is it that you find is an unexpected blessing during this???