Yesterday I was driving home from a meeting, listening to a podcast when I pulled into a parking lot to take notes. This wasn’t a podcast to drive to, and I needed to get some things on paper.
You don’t need another blog, Instagram, or Facebook post telling you how weird/hard of a year 2020 has been. Uhhh I think we are ALL pretty much on the same page there! However, what I don’t see a lot of people posting about is what do we DO with it. How do we get back in a healthy headspace? How do we keep going and get back to feeling like ourselves, even within the current limitations and challenges?
A few recent conversations with my husband about our dreams and goals have really helped. One about the future of my business and one about the future of our marriage, family, home, finances, LIFE. Dan compared it to sticking your head above the water, seeing the horizon, and taking a breath after months of swimming underwater. If it’s been a bit since you’ve allowed yourself to dream about the future (without the pressure of a set time frame), do it.
Yesterday my friend Nancy shared in her Instagram stories about taking the authority God has given you over your life. It lit a fire in me! She talked about how through Christ, God has given us authority over certain areas. When it comes to our bodies, our home, our habits, our mindset, authority is ours for the taking. We can be washed over with waves or we can stand firm in Christ and do the best we can with what we have for the glory of God and our own good. By taking authority over the areas we have it we can better serve our families, our spouse, our community. We can better serve the Lord.
She then posted THIS PODCAST episode. Listen to the first 9 minutes and then set aside time to journal while listening to the rest- or just pull your car right over and grab a notebook from your bag!
This is not a time to analyze the past few months and think about what you wish you could change. This is a time to look at where you are today and decide how you want to move forward. How do you want to feel for the rest of the year? How do you want to show up?
Look at what is working and not working
- in your home
- in your work
- in your schedule or lack thereof
- in your habits or lack thereof
What things make you feel the best? Can you do those things daily or weekly? What routines and rhythms can you put in place to better utilize your time?
We can be intentional about how we want to approach each day. We can take authority over the areas God has given to us and glorify Him through the utilization of the precious time He has given us. To call this year a waste is to dishonor the minutes God has assigned to your lifetime. Our God is eternal, yet He chooses to number our days. How do you want to use them?
I am a creature of routine and habit. I thrive off of structure and predictability. If this year has been anything it AIN’T PREDICTABLE. But you know what I can do? Set my mornings back into a routine. Make a schedule for my unscheduled week. There is a way to remain flexible to changes while still taking ownership and bringing intentionality to the table. Knowing this is how I thrive, I can see that a large portion of “not feeling like myself” is probably coming from my lack of routine. After journaling through Nancy’s prompts I
- solidified my morning routine
- solidified my work/rest schedule (differentiation of your time is highly important when working from home)
- decided to return to my block schedule at work
- created a home cleaning routine/schedule
These are all habits/routines that I’ve had in place for years (other than the cleaning routine, that one is new because a house is SO much more work than an apartment!!) but threw out the window when COVID hit. Again, this is not a time to look at the past but rather to take hold of how you want to move forward. Maybe for you it is revisiting old routines, or maybe it’s throwing the old playbook out the window and starting fresh.
We serve an eternal God, who has seen it best to set us into time. Whether we try to cram too much into a few fleeting moments or let time pass unused assuming there will always be more, remember, God is the ultimate balancer. He is our guidance, our leader, and our peace. By the power of Christ, we can stand firm, today on this earth while resting in complete trust of the one who holds it all.
“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
– 1 Timothy 1:17
“So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
– Psalm 90:12-17
I’m cheering you on.
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