used with permission © by Rachel Moore 2020
So my kids and I can be fairly resourceful having lived on the mission field and gone through the death of husband and daddy. One day I was pondering being stuck in my house 24/7 and then I remembered that in Mexico we had raw sewage POURING through the walls of our home, while we were living there, for an entire month. Goodness! If God can get me through that he can give me strength for this.
But things like this can also be triggers of grief and trauma. So it's a strange dichotomy of being resourceful and strong as well as a bit more fragile.
What we are all going through, whether we realize it or not is grief, trauma and I believe culture shock as well. Nothing is the same as it was, everywhere we turn life is different, our "culture" if you will is different and that can be extremely stressful. When we first arrived in Mexico I just wanted to find one corner of my world that hadn't been turned inside out and upside down but it didn't exist.
And everything in our world has changed which creates a type of culture shock as well as the grief from loss and trauma from the serious nature of what is happening.
We need to give ourselves grace and allow our emotions time to adjust and heal. I've talked with many people from college students to older adults who can't focus on work or projects and are finding productivity difficult to come by. This is grief folks, it's the fog of our emotions being on overload. Just because we have time, doesn't mean we are physically or emotionally capable of productivity, and that's okay!
So give yourself the gift of grace and rest in God's sweet love and care for you.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Great post, thanks for sharing this. I've been a widow for 7 years & 4 months. This time of isolation has definitely given me lack of motivation. I find myself plopped here in my chair watching you-tube, just to take up time and not think about what we are going through, not just in our country but around the world. I talk to Jesus throughout the days and nights, read my Bible and devotionals, listen to and watch worship music, encouraging music and msgs of hope. This is a different kind of grieving than when God called my dear husband home. Now we are isolated from family, friends and church. But, we have to remember that we are not isolated from God, He is constantly with us, comforting us. Thank you for bringing up that our lack of productivity is a form of grieving, as it helped to put things into perspective for me. This morning I plan to go out and work in a garden area, weather permitting. God's continued blessings on this blog and on the contributors. ~ FlowerLady
ReplyDelete"We are not isolated from God,"---Thank you Lorraine, that is such a good reminder. He sees us, He is with us. I'll let Rachel know how much you appreciated this. I loved it too, and appreciate YOU! I look forward to all the extra prayers God is hearing because of this pandemic. I'm excited to think how He will answer. Blessings on you too.
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