I don’t know about you, but I believe in divine intervention. Often in life we don’t get what we want or we lose something we have and we feel rejected, alone, forgotten, lost, unworthy, afraid. We wonder why this event or thing has happened to us and how we will move forward. Then weeks, months, or even years later we may look back and realize there was a reason for what happened and it was ultimately for our good...or we learned a critical lesson from the experience. Can you relate?
Our current reality with the Corona Virus may be stirring up (for you) some of the feelings and emotions I mentioned above. Many have lost loved ones, jobs, security (or at least perceived security). Beyond the loss, there are many positive things that are happening right now. And many things will change for the better in the future as we learn from the current situation.
I read a Facebook post the other day that said something to the effect that “we should never return to normal because our normal was not working.” That message resonated with me. I do believe that our societal “norms” were not what God intended and perhaps He intervened. Whatever you believe, I do hope we will all walk away from this time in history having learned some important lessons.
Here are some of my observations:
- People are being kinder, helping neighbors, the elderly, those in financial crisis.
- Families are spending time with each other, eating dinner together, having conversations, getting to know each other, checking on each other.
- A girl in my “Next Door Neighbor” network is making masks for people and giving them away. (I donated fabric to her because of her kindness)
- People are learning new ways of doing things, taking online classes, attending online conferences, learning new technology, developing themselves.
- Great leaders like John Maxwell, Kary Oberbrunner, and others have held online summits for free to keep people engaged and offer a message of hope.
- Musicians like Keith Urban have done free online concerts, again to give hope and bring joy to others.
- People are reaching out to old friends they have not spoken to in years to reconnect and rekindle relationships.
- People are completing projects that they did not have time for before, they are decluttering their homes and their lives.
- I heard someone say the other day (on an online conference) that he would never have just one stream of income again. Many now, and in the future, will be seeking new opportunities to provide for themselves and their families. Many will learn that we cannot be so dependent on a corporation or the government to meet all of our needs.
- People have refocused from the "nice to have" to compete with the neighbors and maintain appearances to the "essentials" and important things in life.
What are your observations? What will you take away from this time of “social distancing” and uncertainty? What will you do differently in the future? How will this experience impact your new “normal”?