By Lisa Harlan, 3.3.22
Subscribe for daily emails during Lent
Keep up with all the devotions
The thing that the pandemic has forced upon us the most is each other. Sometimes it is a happy game of tag outside and sometimes it is a child telling me for the 6th time that they are bored. These are the times that I am trying to cherish. We have never been a family that has an activity every night, but trying to be conservative throughout the pandemic has limited our activities and forced us to find ways to play with and enjoy time with each other. This is a hard one for me, finding things to do around the house with the kids and truly enjoying just hanging out with them. For me, it is easier to plan activities that I can go and watch versus entertaining my kids or taking part in what they want to do.
So, this is my challenge during Lent, to enjoy the mundane and be happy with life as it is. We can’t change the pandemic, we can only change our perspective of it. A weekly devotional I have found is called “A Blessing for the Life you Have” by Kate Bowler. She says,
“Blessed are you who know that sometimes you need to stay right here. At least for a minute. Blessed are you who look wide eyed, maybe timidly at the present moment, gazing at those things that are gently, actually within the reach of your fingertips. Blessed are you, amid the ordinary details that define what life is for you, right now. And as you see them, greet them- each one – and smile as you call them by name. “