In the matter of four days, I had the same number of conversations asking a similar question — how can we keep the positive aspects of the current stay-at-home restrictions once the risks are minimized?
“I don’t want things to go back to normal, aside from being quarantined that is,” one friend said.
“I really like our new family structure and routine,” another friend stated.
“I’m definitely ready to be able to go places again and get back to work, but I do hope we can keep the calmer lifestyle.”
“There have truly been some blessings that I didn’t even realize I was missing out on, like family worship time, just the four of us in our living room, and an opportunity to sit and talk without being in a rush or being distracted.”
Everyone agrees we want the coronavirus eliminated and the danger alleviated; we also crave freedom to gather together and be out in public again.
We miss our church families even as most are finding creative ways to stay connected.
And we all grieve with those who have lost loved ones to the virus and are concerned about those battling it at the moment.
I’m confident everyone across the globe is more than ready for life as we once knew it to resume, but is it possible to merge our new, yet temporary, normal with our past freedoms and routines and truly have the best of both worlds?
Will we have the discipline to continue prioritizing what really needs to be done over some of the good but unnecessary items we take on, sometimes without even realizing it?
What will business meetings and daily work assignments look like after COVID-19?
Will church look and feel differently post-virus?
Who will we be individually on the other side of this?
Self-reflection is not always an easy task, but there’s really no better time than the present to go for it. You never know what you will discover in the process.
One thing that comes to mind for me is all the times I’ve thought, and sometimes even said out loud, how I wish I could hit pause on the entire world for 24 hours so I could catch up on a few things while the rest of life was frozen in time.
Technically, that’s not what’s happening right now, but the world has slowed down in so many areas and at such a significant pace, I do have an opportunity to tackle some of the projects that keep getting pushed aside when life is at full speed.
If I can finish up a few projects that have been weighing heavily on me, then I’ll have a better chance of maintaining some of the positive outcomes from the current restrictions.
The more of those projects that move from pending to completion, the more margin I’ve created — assuming I’m disciplined enough to protect the margin on the other side.
And there’s a bonus — being productive and intentional is not only freeing but also helps the days move more quickly.
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