Waiting Around: Ugg or Ahh!
COVID-19 has changed our hustle-bustle world into waiting rooms and isolation chambers. Thankfully, most of us have smart phones, and virtual connections help a lot. Even more thankfully, most of us have families, and maybe we have’t spent this much face-time with them since we were little kids.
Even so, the whole world seems to be waiting around. All of us are wondering: will life ever be “normal” again? More likely, we’re facing a new normal, so we need to look for the meaning and purpose in it. Being flexible is the name of the new normal game. But what do we do in the meantime…?
In the Bible, God talks about waiting a lot. His stars like Abraham and Sarah, Zachariah and Elizabeth, Jacob, Joseph, David and Abigail did a whole lot of waiting on God to move– and their circumstances to change for the better.
But here’s the thing about waiting. It’s not about doing “nothing”. It’s not about entertaining ourselves (which can be the same thing as doing nothing).
Waiting is active. Waiting is planning. Waiting is connecting. Waiting is like halftime at a football game, and we’re the players. We rest. We re-energize. We talk to our team. We listen to our coach (God, parents, leaders).
We strategize about what we’re going to do in the second half… in order to win. If you like football, you may notice that the teams with the best halftime routines… often stay or step ahead to pull out the victory.
That’s us. Victorious. So… consider a few suggestions for current waiting time:
- Appreciate your family! Show them how much you love them. (Too many people don’t have what you’ve got.)
- Clean out your closets and drawers. Reorganize. A fresh start feels amazing.
- Sort through pictures and videos on your phone. Discard. Group. Have fun.
- Check up on family and friends regularly, especially those you think might be lonely.
- Read. Paint. Draw. Study. Journal. Exercise. Write down your goals and plans for the next 6 months.
- Pray for yourself. Pray for others. Read the Bible. Try a new devotion app and see if you like it.
- Right now, the internet is FULL of webinars, live entertainment and virtual meetings of every sort. Free. Fun. Comforting.
Whatever you do, be productive and be thankful. So many people are experiencing far worse tragedies than social isolation. We are blessed and must continue to count thank God for every circumstance, great and hard—including this COVID-19 pandemic.
