Will We Ever Go Back to Normal?

Life has changed a lot during this COVID-19 pandemic. “Shelter in Place” and “Social Distancing” have become household words. Zoom is the new hang out space. More people are homeschooling than not. Masks are the new wardrobe accessory. Personal bubbles have expanded to “six feet apart.” Crazy. Who would’ve thought?

A friend of mine threw a question out there, “Will we ever go back to normal?”

Hmm. My answer is I don’t know. There are whisperings of heading that way, but what does that look like? I don’t know that, either.

But what I do know is that life is made up of seasons. Weather. Aging. Parenting. Careers. Family. Kids. Everything changes–fads, clothes, hair, circumstances, and more. We live in an ever-changing, constantly moving world.

There’s not much we can control. Life–the good and the bad–just happens.

What we can control is how we respond. I spent some time thinking on this, and came up with four things we can do as we hunker down for the rest of this “season.”

First, Have a Plan. What is it that we want to accomplish before this season changes? Do you want to plant a garden? Take that walk around the lake? Have that talk with your teenager? Write it down, and well, just do it.

Second, we need to Protect our Minds. There are so many voices right now! So much information. So much projection. So much fear-conjuring. So many agendas, attitudes, theories…listening to all of this can wreak havoc on our minds and moods. We need to put up boundaries so that it doesn’t consume us.

Third, Plant Seeds that Will Grow and Bear Fruit. I mentioned the garden, but here I’m talking about planting seeds relationally, financially, physically, and even spiritually. While writing out your plan, think of all these areas and pick one thing that will make a difference, or be the beginning of something amazing.

Lastly, Listen for the Promptings. We all have ideas and an intuition that we may or may not listen to on a regular basis. Call this person. Stop right now and hug that child. Usually we brush it aside–there’s not time, or I’ll do it later, and later never comes. In these last weeks of COVID-19 Sheltering, listen to your inner promptings and follow through.

I have mixed feelings on this time. I will say that we have had some disappointments. I’ve heard myself say, “I wish this COVID thing never happened.” It reminds me of my favorite scene in The Lord of the Rings.

Frodo says to Gandalf, “I wish the ring had never come to me.”

Gandalf in all his wisdom replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Our H2LOC Team wishes for you a season that is positive, memorable, and the beginning of something amazing.