Dealing with it.


If you have faith, then your whole life is put in a pew perspective.  You get to work but enjoy the work at the same time. If you grow spiritually, you do what’s in front of you 
and let the results speak for themselves. –Roy Orbison


This virus thing just goes on and on. The running gag is whether or not you know what day it is. We make up new days—my favorite is Sumotuwedthufrisat. I can use it every single day. The roller coaster of change is a stiff ride, isn’t it?

I want off. I really do. But the cars are nowhere near the platform yet.

We all have different ways of thinking we are handling things. Some work better than others. But in the midst of all this stuff is this truth: Part of what we are experiencing is grief. Some of us are grieving loved ones lost to the virus; others are grieving our freedoms, or the loss of accustomed lifestyles. Even simple things, like being able to just run to the store for a couple of things, instead of trying to limit our trips to once a week.

It stinks. It all stinks.

When we experience loss, the main thing that has to happen is admitting something has happened, and it is affecting us. As with an actual death of a loved one, this grief will affect us, one way or another, one time or another.

If you don’t make space to grieve, the grief will make its own space. If you will not admit you’re struggling, one morning you just might be overcome.

Find a space. Find a friend with two big, listening ears. Hit your knees. It’s okay to hurt. It’s okay to weep. It’s okay.


(This week is about self-care. You deserve your attention.)

Monday Anxiety can be contagious. Counter that by being generous. Do a little kindness today. Breathe. Acts 1:6-8

Tuesday Sunshine, besides supplying Vitamin D, is a great spirit-lifter. Move your chair near a window. Enjoy the sunshine and even the breeze. Breathe. Acts 1:9-14

Wednesday Television and the internet give us a lot of information (maybe too much). Turn off, tune out and pick up a good fiction book. Breathe. Psalm 68:1-10

Thursday Being in quarantine or isolation doesn’t mean you need to be alone. Call a friend. Be a friend. Listen. Breathe. Psalm 68:32-35

Friday Ever tried yoga? There are lots of online videos, even chair yoga. Meditate. Breathe. Rest. John 17:1-11

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, laugh. Look for things in your life that are absolutely absurd. Tell someone a joke. Breathe. 1 Peter 4:12-14

Sunday Today is about perspective. Take time today to view things through God’s perspective. Today is but a moment. This, too, shall pass. Breathe. 1 Peter 4:6-11

Not enough people in this world, I think,
carry a cosmic perspective with them. It could be life-changing. –Neil Degrasse Tyson


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