Stupid COVID

COVID!  Yep, it is still around.

Changes started really happening in the USA in January 2020 and by March 2020, churches were closed, schools were closed, restaurants were closed, etc. Then restaurants started opening ONLY for take-out. Toilet paper was once again found on the store shelves but in limited quantity. The month of July 2020 is almost over and it is almost impossible to find antibacterial wipes, sprays, hand sanitizer, etc. When you are able to locate any of the antibacterial/antiviral products, the cost is greatly inflated.

During this COVID time in history:

Our oldest had his wedding date changed, the invitation list slashed and the location changed. They had a grand wedding and reception planned for all their friends and all their family to celebrate with them, a wedding for the books. They ended up in the Bride’s brother’s backyard with one-eighth of their loved ones present. The wedding was beautifully amazing and they are married. But the dream that all girls have, their wedding day, was greatly changed for my sweet daughter in-love. She went through so much from the time the engagement ring was placed on her finger to the day the wedding ring joined it (not just wedding drama but major life hits), yet she stayed loving, gracious and hopeful. Her spirit was never broken. They both loved on each other and held each other up. They are the perfect example of how love can give you shelter from the storms of life.

Our middle child got her creative juices going. They have twins under the age of two and staying home just is not easy when you feel closed off from the rest of the world. She runs several FB accounts from home and turned some of them into money makers. She found ways to entertain the kids, give them variety in play, and adventure without leaving their property. She pulled them close to keep them safe but still allowed their wings to spread. They are doing such an amazing job that God saw fit to bless them again. They will welcome one more into their arms at the beginning of 2021 and we cannot wait. If ever God created two ideal parents, it is them. Grant it, they started with twins so everything was “normal” for them. Now they will see how “easy” it can be to have one – at least I pray that is how it turns out.

Our youngest got engaged just prior to the lock-down and they are currently trying to plan a wedding for the end of the year. It is one logistical hurdle after another. But they are both firmly rooted in Him and their love has not waivered – if anything, it has cemented their love in an indescribable way. We are enjoying sitting back and hearing their plans and their “alternate” plans. I have no doubt that God will hold their hands through this time. Meanwhile, they continue to do their jobs in a new, more creative way. New “normals” are constantly being set. They adapt very well because they pull from the grace within themselves.

I have friends and family that are literally fighting for their lives – cancer, organ transplants, heart blockages, etc. I sometimes wonder how they can live in this pandemic and still suit up for battle every day. They all have the same response – they don’t. They simply fall into His arms every day and let Him carry them through the day, the week, the month, the moment.

COVID has brought to life one very consistent truth – life is fleeting.  None of us has promise of tomorrow and no one is immune to the hardships of living on this planet. How excited I am that I am NOT long for this world that is NOT my home. One day I will breathe my last breath of the stale air of Earth and inhale the freshness of Glory. Oh what a day that will be!!! Nothing, including COVID, can steal that from me.

LESSON: Live each day as if it were your last and be sure you are taking someone with you into Glory for that is the ONLY treasure we can “lay up in Heaven” – souls won for Him.

Time to Renovate

We just did some improvements at our home. They are beautiful improvements and it increased our curb appeal, but they were done based on need.

Our home is a place to give us shelter in between “life”. It is a place to store items that may hold precious memories. It is a place to gather with friends and family to make memories or to relive them. But it is also a storage place for junk. We collect items because walls look bare with nothing on them. Closets and shelves look “sparse” so we fill them up. In my grandparent’s time, no one needed to rent a storage space to put their stuff in. If they needed it, they found room for it. If they didn’t have room, the assumption was that they didn’t truly “need” it and merely “wanted” it.

When did that all change?

I am reminded of an old joke that says: “The one who dies with the most toys, wins!” Really? When did we move into being so focused on “stuff”? If we have a car, we want another car or a better car. If we have a house, we want a bigger house. We are never satisfied. We are always trying to “one-up” someone or ourselves. I have a friend, when I share an accomplishment of one of my children with her, she compulsively has to “one-up” me with something her little one has accomplished.

Do not misunderstand, I am not saying we should not seek to improve ourselves or our surroundings. I am questioning the motives, the heart, of why. Please know that I am pointing the light of examination on myself as well.

I have to ask myself if I am taking care of the “curb appeal” of my life or am I concentrating on the foundation, the structure, the interior?

All the paint on the outside of the house will not hold it up when storms prevail. We need to tend to the foundation and the structure of our lives. For me, the foundation is my relationship with Jesus Christ and the structure is found in love – love of God’s Word, love of what He values and love of my family. I could not make it through a “good” day without these things, let alone a “storm of life”.

Time to renovate the inside!

LESSON: Never assume some THING can bring you happiness, love or life. It ONLY comes through some-One.