Here we are at the end of week 479 of quarantine life. (You might need to check my math on that, but it seems about right.) While the end is in sight, the world still seems strange and it’s starting to look this might be our “normal” for some time to come. Predictions aside, I hope the posts below are encouraging—or at least help you feel less alone—as you head into yet another weekend of life at home.
Love, Not Fear, Remains, by Aaron McKethan
“Encouraged by the fearless actions of the early church, how can we seek the welfare and flourishing of our own community through practical acts of grace and kindness to our neighbors in need? How can we protect the weak and lift up the vulnerable in this moment? Rejecting fear of disease and our own personal misfortunes, we need eyes that see and hearts willing to serve.”
4 Unexpected Things I Learned from My First Year as a New Mom, by Olivia Watson
“My capacity to love has deepened to a level I didn’t know existed…and that makes me feel both completely exposed and vulnerable, and yet confident and fearless. This new love is fragile because it’s so pure, and yet it has provided a new sense of purpose that feels solid and sound. It’s as if I’d been floating before but now I’m grounded, running full force ahead, living for someone and something other than myself. In one year, my mind, soul and body have transformed into another self that existed within me.”
Kendra Note: This is entirely unrelated to our current circumstances, yet I resonated SO MUCH with this mom’s thoughts on new motherhood that I simply had to share.
We’re Not Wired to Be This Alone, by Frank Bruni
“[Digital communication is] a supplement, not a substitute; an in-a-pinch alternative, not a whole new norm. Blazer noted that we have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. Only the first two come into play when we interact with someone online, and even those are compromised, regardless of the hardware’s or software’s finesse.”
Learning to Enjoy One of Our Most Valuable Commodities During Covid Quarantine…. Time, by Cheyenne Bell
“So instead of seeing this time as a huge inconvenience and letting it stress me out, I am doing my best to shift my mindset and see this time as a gift. This may be the only prolonged period of time in our lifetimes where we are forced to stop living a frenetic life, slow down and enjoy our family and our home. Why not make the best of it and find out what blessings we may gain?”
Permission Notes for a Pandemic, by Jen Rose Yokel
“In this strange, slow new world, where many of us are working from home, deleting canceled events from our calendars, suddenly homeschooling, or finding new stretches of unfilled time, it’s tempting to feel a need to do things. And as I try to find the shape of my life for now, I’ve had to give myself permission to go a little easier on myself. If you need to hear this too, may I extend the same grace to you.”
What You’re Being Asked to Do Is No Small Thing, by Kristine Allmendinger-Guertz
“I won’t ever minimize the sacrifices of my war-serving, medal-earning grandfathers because those were significant moments in history. But let’s also quit minimizing what’s being asked of us now.”
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