I had to look back, because I can't really remember the last time I went out, before all this began. And I'm pretty sure that it was two weeks ago, tomorrow. It was church on Wednesday night. I was enjoying dinner with our church family and partying with my kiddos in kids church. It was life. And life was good.
Then all this Corona Virus craziness happened. And life as we know it has drastically changed in some ways and hasn't changed at all in others.
The Oldest Princess is home from college. Several months before her graduation ceremony. Now we are home schooling the Youngest Princess and home college-ing the Oldest Princess. It is an adjustment for all of us. The Oldest Princess and the Youngest Princess have two TOTALLY different ways of studying. One likes complete silence, the other likes to talk about everything. One wants to be left alone, one wants to be in the middle of all the action and still try to study. They drive each other crazy. And me...I'm usually caught in the middle trying to keep the peace, and not lose my own sanity in the process.
The Young Prince is still working. And we are thankful that he still has a job and can go to work. But he is off a little more. It is hard to get up and go to work when everyone else is home most of the time. It is different having all five of us back in the house together, with two of the three kids now adults having lived out of the house and on their own for a while. It makes for some really interesting dynamics, folks! The Young Prince gets on the girls' nerves when he is here and they, in return, get on his. And me...I'm usually caught in the middle trying to keep the peace, and not lose my own sanity in the process.
My Prince. Bless his heart! And the hearts of every other pastor out there who is trying to keep doing ministry in the middle of all of this! It is a whole lot of learning all kinds of tech type stuff, and trying to add bandwidth and trying to learn how to be in front of a camera and look as natural as possible, and trying new apps and new websites to see which one would be the best to host small groups like Sunday School classes and Discipleship groups, so that all of the momentum they had going before is not lost in the shuffle. And just about the time that they find something that they think is going to work and get the instructions out to everyone in the groups, they learn that it won't quite work after all and they are back at square one. It is learning how to pour your heart out to a blinking light on a camera, with no human feed back. And y'all, when people are your passion, THAT is HARD. It is a lot of trying to connect with people over the phone and a lot of making sure people are okay and have what they need. It is a lot of maneuvering of troops to get food and supplies to those who need them. It is a lot of changing schedules and making sure that everyone gets the time they need with the equipment so that they can stay connected with their groups. It is a WHOLE LOT of praying, and making decisions, looking to church leadership to help make decisions, second guessing those decisions, being accused by some people of making the wrong decisions, third guessing decisions, losing sleep over decisions, fourth guessing decisions, etc. It is never ending. And me...I'm usually caught in the middle. Trying to help him, trying to encourage him, cheering him on, reassuring him, and not lose my own sanity in the process.
We are continuing with school as normal. I think it is best to keep the routine as much as possible with the things that we CAN control. I have been thankful for mostly great weather, so we can be outside as much as possible. We have used our crafting supplies to be creative. We have blown bubbles, picked flowers, made homemade bird feeders, gone for walks, and bike rides, we have read books, we have played with our new puppy (we got him last November), we have watched TV, we have experimented in the kitchen, we have helped a friend clean her new house, we have passed out food at church, we have eaten in a lot, and we have done take out a few times, we have cleaned out cabinets and have some closets to go. AND we had a parade for the Youngest Princess for her 14th birthday. Which was a total blast. I can not thank all those who came enough. You all are the BEST!
I have recorded a couple of terrible kids lessons for my church kids. It is really hard to do a kid's video! My full respect to those who do it on a regular basis. It is certainly not my favorite thing to do, but I love my church kids, and I want them to know it, so I will do them until we are able to meet in person again. My Prince and the Oldest Princess have agreed to do the skits for me for this four week series, and that helps to make the videos a little more bearable.
So far, I've been handling things mostly okay. I'm a homebody anyway, and love being at home. But today I have been feeling a little stir crazy. I did take a few minutes to take the Youngest Princess to the barn, and while she did "horsey" things, I looked over my children's lesson, and tried to think of some things that can help it to be more interesting and interactive for the kids. And I read some of my book. I decided to read Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl. Probably not the best choice of books right now. Maybe it is helping to contribute to my stir craziness. I am about 1/4 of the way through. I have started it, so I must finish it.
Grammy and Poppy have safely arrived back from the D.R. We are glad that they were able to make it before any bans on travel. They came by this evening and we sat out in the front yard to visit, to keep in line with social distancing.
I waffle back and forth between not being concerned at all about the Corona Virus, and being scared to death. I can't let myself think about it too much, or my fears can run away with me. I do my best to control the things I can, and not totally stress out over the things I can not control. I am just doing my best to use common sense and follow the suggestions of those who know far more about it than I and most importantly putting my trust in God who is not surprised by any of this and knows what tomorrow holds. I know that I can trust the One who loves me enough to die for me and that whatever happens, He is in control, and that it will be for my best (Romans 8:28).
And that my friends is our last two weeks in a nutshell. I plan to try to blog daily for a while, so Lord willing, I will see you all tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment