“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Ps 18:2)
This last year has been quite a roller coaster ride. Last month marked one year since my mom fell and broke her kneecap. When the orthopedist told us an injury like hers could take up to six months to get better and a year to heal completely, I thought, That surely isn’t right.
But it was. My mom recovered well, which I wrote about in a Mother’s Day blog post. I also wrote about the perseverance and hope we developed as a family even though we didn’t know what the future would bring. We took each day as it came and celebrated victories both big and small along the way.
Little did we know that even more upheaval was coming. And not just for us, but for the whole world in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic. The week after my mom went back to work full time, the country shut down.
As with any event in my life, I’ve looked for the lessons and the blessings. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.
Embrace the Unexpected
This is hard for me. I’m a planner by nature, and the unknown creates fear and anxiety. From not knowing how long or how well my mom would recover to not knowing what we don’t know about COVID-19, this past year has been one big lesson in dealing with the unexpected.
Embrace the Temporary
My season of caregiving was temporary. It allowed me to move back in with my parents and spend time with them that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. And when the pandemic hit and I didn’t see them for two months, well, my cup was full because I had spent so much time with them in the previous six months.
Embrace the Little Things
No matter what’s going on in my life, I can always find something positive if I pray for God to reveal it to me. Many times, little positive things go overlooked—things like the beauty of spring flowers or fall leaves, receiving a library book I’d forgotten I requested, meeting with a friend on Google to meet to write.
We never know what’s around the corner, and I hope these lessons will stick with me long after 2020 is gone.
Dear Jesus, thank you for showing me some positive things to embrace during this tumultuous time. It isn’t easy, so when my thoughts drift toward the negative, bring my focus back to you. Amen.