Safe At Home + Thoughts From Quarantine.

We are in week three of quarantine at the house. Things have already changed since last week, although many things have stayed the same.

I'm still in the house (as I said), I've eaten too much popcorn, played lots of Sims, gone on numerous walks, done some homework, gotten two other people in the house playing Sims, probably made my bank wonder why in the world I spend so much money ordering Uber Eats, and I've dramatically stared out the window, remembering the glory days when I could actually walk around in the free world.

sunset views.

Okay, not actually. I can say without hesitation that I have been learning a lot during this time of being quarantined in a house with ten other people, even though there are times when this current daily routine can get repetitive and monotonous, and we catch ourselves arguing with each other over useless things.

I saw a post on Instagram over the weekend that caused me to stop and think, and change the way that I've been viewing the whole concept of self-isolation:

"You are not stuck at home. You are safe at home."

I've had to repeatedly and often remind myself that although I am healthy, staying safe and social distancing, and not someone who is in a vulnerable category, the whole point of self-isolating with my housemates is for us to be protecting the health and safety of others. A lot of this COVID-19 pandemic and our response to it have to do with making the choice to be selfless.

Which can be hard.

Perhaps not physically, because I'm sure a lot of us have seen those posts about our grandparents having been called to go to wars and we are being called to sit in our houses. We've got it pretty good!

With that said, being in self-isolation can take a toll both emotionally and mentally, for sure.

It's overwhelming to me, knowing that everyone in the world is being affected by this pandemic. Isn't that just a crazy thought!? Think about that... The whole world. But at the same time, I find some comfort and peace about the future when I realize that COVID-19 is a global thing. I'm not the only person who has had to cancel plans and events recently. I'm not the only person who doesn't know what their summer plans are going to look like now. I'm not the only one who has questions about the upcoming few months.

A few days ago, I was processing Coronavirus and a couple of changes that have taken place in my life over the past week while on a social distancing walk with my boyfriend, and I made a comment to him that was similar to something I wrote in my last post - "Without the faith that I have in God, I wouldn't be able to face these seemingly unending days of social distancing even half as well as I am." 

During this time, I can sometimes feel like my moods and thoughts are all over the place even just from one day to the next. I'm grateful to be safe at home and healthy, but I can feel restricted and stuck sometimes, wanting to get out even though I know that the majority of places are closed. I can find myself worrying about the future, or the uncertain duration of this pandemic and social distancing. But I remember also saying to my boyfriend that "I know I would be going even more crazy if I didn't have the Truth of God to stand on, and the knowledge that all of this is in His hands."

I hardly know what I'm trying to say here, because I don't have the answers in all this. And I know that no one else does either, aside from the Lord, and the knowledge that He has isn't mine to know... as much as I wish it was. For us as believers, this pandemic can be a powerful time of stretching and growing our trust in God, patience in His plan, and surrendering our plans while remembering that He is in control.

And that's not easy to do; I think that's what my point is. Even though I know those things are true, I definitely don't have the whole trust, patience, and surrendering thing figured out, and I'm not sure I'll have it down pat by the end of this pandemic either.

"...We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." -Romans 5:3-5