How is your week going?
Happy July! Happy summertime! We’ve made it halfway through 2020!
What are you up to this week?
Here in the United States, all the states are opening (or, in some cases, closing again) at different rates. In Virginia, we’ve had some of the most strict regulations and are slowly opening back up. Phase 3 begins today and hopefully stays that way. Family and friends in Texas are dealing with the reigns tightening again because things opened up too soon.
What phase is your state or country in now?
What does your summer look like for you? Have you had to cancel or change your original plans?
How are you coping with all the changes? And staying home so much of the time?
Even though we have homeschooled for many years, this staying home business has been tough on my younger girls and me. We usually like to be on the go! We’re still hoping to travel, though. We have a new baby cousin to meet!
It is still so surreal to think much about all the activities and events that are being canceled. When thinking about it causes me to become anxious or sad, I give myself permission to feel all the feels. I used to be a “stuffer” or a “just push through it” kind of person. I am a positive person and like to dwell on the bright side of life. Life is too short to dwell on the negative.
But life throws some curveballs. Like a global pandemic. And in the past few years, I’ve learned to sit in the dust for a while after the ball hits the ground. It’s messy. I’ve never liked the dust. It makes me sneeze and sniffle, my eyes get bloodshot, my throat tightens up and gets scratchy, and the dust gets on everything. It feels gritty. The particles linger in the air for a long time.
But once the dust settles, it’s good to just be. To just sit. To feel all the sorrow and sadness. To acknowledge the disappointment, the longing for things to be different. To breathe out the anxiety. To breathe out the dust. And then, after I give those feelings some time and attention, I move my focus to peace.
And I start breathing in the clean air and hope and refreshment.
My faith is the foundation of my life, so I ask Jesus to sit with me in the mess. He made the dust, and me, so dust doesn’t seem to faze Him one bit. He doesn’t get anxious or stressed out or lose His cool. He’s perfectly calm and is perfect peace and makes the best companion for just being. He knows all the details, so I don’t even have to say much or even anything at all. We just hang out for a while. He knows my needs, and I know His love and goodness and compassion and kindness. He gives me His heavenly perspective, and I refocus my attention on the good again.
I let Him dust me off. Then we get up and move on to the next thing.
Thinking of you today,
Scarlett xo
The Scarlett Thread 