Like so many others, I’ve found myself searching for normalcy during these odd times. I’ve been working to maintain a schedule or routine to stay mentally well. Most of us are struggling with a newfound full-time job of trying to avoid going stir crazy. I can’t stand to count the days because quite frankly, it makes this nightmare too real.
With all of our time spent at home, it’s so easy to become discouraged and run out of ideas on things to keep entertained. I’ve found myself doing things I did often as a kid. The first week I found myself needing to bake cookies, something we always did on snow days. I recently picked up an adult coloring book for “stress relief.” I spend a ton of time sitting in my backyard and playing with the dog. On Saturday, I climbed a tree. I look forward to Saturday’s spent with my parents working on projects and learning from my Dad, something I used to love, but has taken a backseat to other priorities as I’ve grown up. While talking to a close friend and colleague she reminded me that she’s finding herself back to her favorite childhood hobby of roller skating. Both of us have found ourselves immersed in things we haven’t had the opportunity to devote time to the way we did as kids.
To match this new love for being home, I recently found a picture from a trip I took with Marty and the Tuesday Morning Girls Bible Study group. We took a group of high schoolers on a weekend trip to St. Joseph’s for a contemporary Christian music concert (not our normal scenes). While this still isn’t my favorite music I find myself thinking of a song called “I Wanna Go Back” by David Dunn. The lyrics go:
I wanna go back to
Jesus loves me, this I know
For the Bible tells me
For the Bible tells me so
I wanna go back
To This little light
Gonna let it shine
Gonna let it shine
I wanna go back
These cheesy lyrics now make me smile and laugh at what other times I would willingly
agree to go for a last minute road trip for a Christian music group. This music may have been catchy but it isn’t typically the first thing I look to when trying to find a connection to God.
This renewed sense of loving where I came from has been a gift I didn’t know I wanted; it’s been the silver lining to find. In such a strong time of uncertainty and unknown, I’ve been looking for comfort that is tried and true. I’m looking for encouragement through the simple pleasures and being lucky enough to find comfort in being home as if I was a kid again. This time is completely new for us. This time is creating an opportunity that we have to reset those lessons we’ve always been taught. It can be a time of reflection and renewal in our faith. This time can be to remember the lessons we started this world with. My plan looking forward is to work harder to remember those lessons that got lost as we grow up and stay grateful for the opportunity.
God
Brett
