5 Things I Have Learned During The Pandemic

If you had told me back in mid-March that the COVID-19 pandemic would stretch for months and months and test me in ways I wouldn’t expect, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

The global pandemic has been a hot spot topic on the internet. Our whole lives have been flipped upside down, twisted in unnatural ways, and pushed us to the limit. And even though when I write this, the end is nowhere near in sight. So today, I want to share some of the things I’m learning amidst this historic moment in time.

To give you some context, I’ve been at home for 11 weeks on quarantine and on lockdown for 8 of those weeks. I’m an essential worker who stocks shelves and checks people out at a local health food + supplement store. I live with eight other people–all family. We don’t get out of lockdown until at least May 28th and that’s if it’s not extended for the fourth or fifth time.

Lessons I’ve Learned During The Pandemic

Lesson 1: God is Here in the Good and the Bad: He hasn’t gone anywhere. Sometimes, it feels like he has–especially on days when I haven’t intentionally spent time in prayer and worship.

But God is constant and He is here for me no matter what. He’s helped me through trials before and He will continue to help when I ask–even if it’s not in the ways I want.

Lesson 2: Productivity Is Going To Look Different Everyday: I’ve had some REALLY lazy days like I’m sure most of us have. The screen time on my phone has had some obnoxious numbers and I’ve had days where I don’t even check my to-do list.

Now, I’m not justifying these choices of mine in any way. I think I could’ve chosen to handle my bad days in a healthier manner.

The point is that sometimes, productivity might mean working extra hours at work. On maybe it’s only 500 words in my book. Maybe it’s finally gutting my desk like I’ve been meaning to. Celebrate the small wins and don’t expect your productivity levels to look the same right now.

Lesson 3: Appreciate The Small Things: In a time where we’re at home all the time and nothing super exciting is happening, you have to learn to take notice of the small moments throughout the day that you can have a greater appreciation for.

For me personally, that includes: baking in the kitchen, going on walks with my dogs, staying up until 2 in the morning reading and long FaceTime calls with my friends. I find that when I have more joy in my days. I smile more and I feel like I’ve achieved something even if it’s not a lot.

Lesson 4: God Creates Seasons Of Rest: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve complained about being so busy all the time and wishing I could just pause and rest for a while.

Well…my wish came true and I’m still not happy. If anything, there are two lessons here: I’m always going to want more and God creates rest seasons for us. God is in control no matter what and it’s in these seasons of slowing down when we need to be pressing into God even more and wanting to get close to Him.

Take advance of the time we get to slow down and breathe. Yes, things are out of the ordinary and in many ways, they are very, very scary right now. I have lots of my own personal fears. But I know when I look back on this time, I’m sure I’m going to wish I’d appreciated this slow period of my life more.

Lesson 5: God Wants Us To Run To Him: I’m not going to lie, the past couple of weeks have been tough and my spiritual life unintentionally went on the back burner. I’ve battled more anxiety than I’ve had in a long, long time.

And even though I keep beating myself up for not spending more time in worship and prayer, every time I do, God always welcomes me with open arms. He doesn’t push me away. He forgives me every time I trip and make mistakes. I don’t deserve His love.

My faith is growing stronger. Even on the days, I let the fear set in and push God away. Situations like a global pandemic challenge my faith and force me to affirm my beliefs–even standing up for it when necessary. I’ve set some boundaries in order to protect both my mental and spiritual health and they’ve really helped in the long run.

Remember: We’re going to get through this together.

Let’s Chat!

How are you? Really? What have been some of your challenges during this pandemic? Is there any way I could pray for you? Let’s talk in the comments!

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