Like the rest of the world, or at least America, spring threw me into a new world. There was heartache and memes, collective grief and overall a sense of worry and unsettle. Here are a few words about the big things I’ve learned this season and the random ones, too.
Pandemic
It’s not just a movie plot or a hypothetical fear. It’s a reality and includes hoarding toilet paper, staying at home, social distancing, and wearing masks. Over Spring Break, I spent literally hours–like a billion other people – looking for a package or toilet paper. I was not because I felt the compulsion to buy it, but because we were legitimately out! I was thankful to find some at Walgreens – which, in this case, truly was “the corner of happy and healthy.”
Digital Learning
It is not home school. It definitely is not at-school, either, and is hard on everyone. But my strength finder “input, developer and arranger” self was pumped. And I dug learning all the new tools and the chance to work with so many people. On the flip side, my “empathy and harmony” heart was working triple time, too.
Racial injustice
There are no words I could write into a paragraph or social media post that could adequately say what I want to convey. So. I’ll simply say, “I’m listening and learning.”
Editors, Beware!
I can’t spell Deuteronomy… ever. Like the word ‘guard,’ it looks wrong to me every time. Add that to the consistent confusion of the peek/peak/pique homonym and my constant misuse of dashes and ellipses, proofreaders and editors, beware!
Skipping!
In the spring, I wrote a list of ways to celebrate. While watching one of my nieces, I realized I’d regrettably left off skipping! If you need a boost, I HIGHLY recommend it!
Life Through a Screen
Experiencing life through a screen, as we have the last few months, we can often pause, rewind, skip or even watch something in double speed to get the idea without listening closely to each second of the words. While this is great for gathering information quickly or skipping commercials, I’ve found myself occasionally listening to something live and wishing I could skip ahead or listen in 2x speed. I’m sure there is a lesson in this observation, I’m just not sure what it is yet.
Brains
My brain hasn’t collected information in the same way during this season. I often have to read and reread to work through paragraphs in books. I listen to podcasts and then forget what was said. Even my favorite light-hearted reading, “Real Simple” magazine and fairy-tale retellings have sat, unopened, on the end table. It seems I’m still in the midst of (maybe someday will recover from) the data and emotional overwhelm of this year so far.
Matthew 10:31
The words swirl through my heart and mind often these days. One afternoon, as I was particularly anxious, I remembered Jesus’ words in Matthew 10 in which He is sending out his disciples to declare the kingdom of heaven is near. He encourages them to not be afraid for several reasons, then just after reminding the disciples even the sparrows don’t fall outside the Father’s care, He says, “You are worth more than many sparrows.” We ALL are.
Hugs and blessings, Bethany
Photo by Guido Jansen on Unsplash