April BONUS Blog: 7 Things I Learned during the Pandemic

We are at the one year plus one month mark of the pandemic and I find myself more frequently searching for the good nuggets of this season. And I also find that this undertaking becomes more challenging as the days turn to weeks and then to months. But I hold on to hope. I remain expectant. And I am grateful … grateful for life, grateful for family, grateful for God’s love. Here are a few lessons from my “pandemic season.”

• To be still: with few places to go and limited things to do, I’ve leaned into being still more often. And as I’ve been reminded so many times before, along with the discomfort of being still for extended periods, there can also be great revelation in this place of rest and retreat. 
• Intentional community: going out meant and continues to mean putting my life at risk. This prompts me to think thrice about the things I say “yes” to. I’ve become much more intentional about who I invite into my community 
• Suffering with joy: the year was hard. We lost a lot and even beyond losses in my immediate family, nearly every week – partially because of a prayer call I co-lead – I was hearing about and joining in prayer for other grieving families. I learned that I couldn’t postpone my joy. I couldn’t wait. I could grieve, weep, lament … and have – hold – joy.  
  

• The beauty of family: I love my family. That is all. I have never, ever in my life appreciated them more than I do now. 
• The gift of friends: friendship is a beautiful, loving gift. Friendship is a gem. Liberating, unassuming, healthy friendship is sacred. I now understand this more deeply. 
• The necessity of seasons: all things have a season. This pandemic has taught me that we have to embrace the season we are in without rushing to the next thing and spending too much time lamenting the former. 
• Embracing solitude and silence: this has been an ongoing contemplation for me and something I discuss openly sparingly. For the first time in my life I have embraced what it means to be fully single, without distractions, without prolonged periods of seeking coupledom … without regret. This is new for me and a novel experience, but I have learned and am learning to embrace, as well as love, this moment. 

What is on your “this is what I’ve learned or embraced during the pandemic” list?