In this episode, we continue to give language to what’s been floating around in our brains. We are sitting together as a community of try-hard girls to process all that’s going on. So for the next 20 minutes, grab a cup of coffee and join me in talking about:
- What we’ve learned about ourselves during this season
- How God is here even in the midst of all our crazy,
- And practical ways to break out of the “blah” we’re in.
We’ve been doing this pandemic thing since March so it’s time to ask: What is going on beneath the surface?
On the surface, we look basically okay.
- We’ve found a sorta-kinda-weird rhythm.
- We have a stash of masks in the car.
- We’re hand-sanitizing ninjas.
- We’ve gotten really creative at how to have fun and not lose our minds during quarantine.
But we feel the rumbling underneath. All is not right with our souls. We feel a weariness. We wear a heaviness. We heave a sack of worries around with us wherever we go.
So let’s take a minute to unpack what’s going on.
Truth #6: Your brain feels sluggish + jumbled, and it’s working overtime.
Pre-pandemic, you made 35,000 decisions a day. Now it feels as if you’re making eleventy-billion-trillion decisions an hour
The pandemic has inundated you with an insane number of tasks, consequences, steps, and logistics to think about.
We are a people of limited capacity. Our need for someone bigger than ourselves to solve and fix and work behind-the-scenes perfectly matches the strengths and abilities of our God. God designed us to have limited — not limitless– capacity. God designed us to need Him and need others.
If we were autonomous, we would not need God. If we were sufficient, we would not need others, their perspectives, wisdom, and insight. So God created us as dependent creatures.
So what do you do to break out of the “blah” of an overtaxed brain? How can you practically work through this with grace?
- Automate what you can, like your dinner, what you wear, what day you go to the grocery store.
- Remember you’re not designed to live and make decisions in a vacuum by yourself. Ask people around you for help and support!
- Continually ask God for His wisdom.
- Limit who you listen to.
- Can I just say it? Have fun!
Truth #7 – You realize some pre-pandemic activities didn’t serve you well.
You’ve learned that not everything you did pre-pandemic was necessary and not doing those things feels surprisingly and refreshingly life-giving. The pandemic has given you space and margin to think about what is best for you moving forward.
We are a people who have the ability to be wise, to act on what God reveals to us, and to make the loving choice.
Now that you’ve had a chance to pause, you realize how He’s been wooing you all along. His still small voice has always been talking to you and now you have the chance to hear it.
So what can you do to maintain this margin? How can you continually practice grace?
- Ask God for the strength and wisdom to continue pruning what isn’t His plan for you.
- Write out what you’ve let go of that’s helped you feel light and free, then do not allow those tasks, commitments, or activities to come back.
- Set a date with yourself three months from now to check in with yourself and see how you’re doing by asking yourself what’s working and what isn’t.
Truth #8 – You’ve lost something.
You’ve lost:
- Benchmark events like proms, graduations, funerals, weddings, end-of-year awards programs,
- People, through death or divorce,
- Your temper.
The pandemic has certainly taken away.
We are a people who count the cost, who do not turn our eyes away from the hard, who do not sweep trials under the rug, but acknowledge them and carry on.
This ability is a gift from God.
God is a God of specifics, of numbers, of counting. He is also a God who grieves when we grieve, who collects our prayers like incense, and who knows what it is like to experience loss, heartache, betrayal, and rejection.
So what do you do to break out of the “blah” of loss? How can we practically work through this with grace?
- In Bonus Episode #9, I talk about the Change Cycle so I would start there.
- Grieve what is gone or what will not be in the future. Name it. Say it out loud. Write it down. Then allow yourself to cry.
- Talk to a friend or counselor. Sometimes the loss and the weight of all that’s changed is too much to process on your own.
- And talk to God. Pour out your heart to Him.
Truth #9: You’ve gained something.
You’ve gained:
- Clarity on where you’d placed your identity and hope,
- Confidence in being able to handle the unexpected and unprecedented,
- Contentment that no matter comes next, you will find Jesus there.
The pandemic has also given us good things.
We are a people who count the good, who think on what is pure, lovely, noble, and true, and acknowledge that all good gifts are from God alone.
Jesus is the good and He gives us good things.
So what can you do to maintain this view of God’s goodness? How can you continually practice grace?
- Write down all the ways God has provided, sustained, loved, and cared for you.
- Ask God to continue to bless you.
Truth #10 – You’re handling the pandemic differently than those around you.
The introverts just want a quiet house all to themselves. The extroverts just want to get out of their house to see people besides their own people.
The moms of littles are tired of the noise, babbling, shrieking, and chasing without the hope of a playdate to break up the day. The moms of bigs are on the fence about school options.
Some have gained time because meetings, private lessons, practices, concerts, rehearsals, training, and presentations have been canceled. Some have less time — homeschooling was a new task, your job as an essential worker took on a new meaning, you’re now the Cruise Ship Director, and responsible for filling every single minute of every single day without a break.
The pandemic has shown that all of us respond to this interruption differently.
We are a people who are wired differently from each other but are all image-bearers of God and made by the same Creator. Friend, you are a part, one thread, one storyline, in God’s message to the world.
Only you have your circle of influence.
Only you have your job.
Only you are the mother to these specific kids and the wife to that man.
Only you have your life experience.
You are God’s girl. His beloved. His daughter who He fearfully + wonderfully made. He planned out your days and knew your words before you spoke them.
God has given you your family, your boss, your neighbors, and your friends for such a time as this. You have the power and authority of the Almighty God who is before you, beside you, behind you, and within you.
You are God’s girl, and you will not be messed with.
So no matter where you land, how you feel, and how you’re reacting during this pandemic, you are God’s masterpiece, His poem, and His daughter walking hand-in-hand with her Father-King.
So what can you do to maintain your understanding of your individuality? How can you continually practice grace?
- Opt-out of the comparison game.
- Ask God to show you what He sees you in you. God wants you to know the answer to this question. He has good works pre-planned for you to do. No one else. But if you’re too busy comparing, you don’t have time to get His job done.
Key Quotes
- God designed us to have limited — not limitless– capacity.
- His hope for us is to bring those hurts, so He can tend to our wounds. He is the great physician, not only of our bodies but our hearts as well.
- You are a part, one thread, one storyline, in God’s message to the world.
Mentioned in the Podcast
$20 off coupon for Every Plate
Previous Episodes Mentioned
- Bonus Episode #6: How each Enneagram type is struggling, thriving and can grow in grace during the pandemic
- Bonus Episode #9: Can we talk about our emotions for a minute?
- Episode #20: Decision-Making in Hard Seasons: When you want certainty and your brain feels full
- Episode #25: Ten truths about you this pandemic: Part One
Here’s how to connect
- GraceInRealLifePodcast.com
- Facebook group
- Facebook page
- Subscribe to Jill’s weekly “the good + the grace” email
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