Tag: #jesus #goodness #hisglory #trustingod

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The Covid Quarantine – Its Losses and Gains

PART 1: From a homeschool student athlete’s perspective

By Sydney

The Covid-19 pandemic forced me to put my uniform and cleats in storage.

Coronavirus Cleared My Calendar

There are nearly eight million high school athletes in America. I am one of 488,592 female varsity trackletes who were affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, and this is the story of how I strove to find light in the darkness of these unfamiliar times. It is a story shared in many ways by all spring athletes across the world, not to mention its challenging effect on all of our learning environments.

Our track season had just begun in February of 2020, and it looked so promising. I am a hurdler, and that requires skill and coordination. At only our third practice, I was finally getting the hang of a more complex step pattern, which I had been working on since the beginning of last season. However, this season – my first varsity season – was in serious jeopardy. It was looking like that letter patch wasn’t going to be in my immediate future. 

My brothers’ basketball season with the Wildcats was cut short, my friend’s baseball season was canceled, and even though my teammates and I hoped and prayed that the Coronavirus would not become a big deal, it still eliminated our entire 2020 track season. We remained hopeful, meeting at parks to run together and continuing to train with hopes that maybe we could still have meets in May, but clearly it was all in vain. 

We were devastated. Especially the seniors.

My Classes Were Deconstructed

Being an athlete during the pandemic was challenging, but so was being a student.  From various posts and memes online, I know a lot of people thought that homeschooling would stay the same – I can testify that it did NOT. I took some classes at a local academic homeschool group, and things changed a ton. Classes were deconstructed, and thrown onto unfamiliar platforms like Zoom, just like they were for public schoolers. Group projects were canceled. Field trips that we had been looking forward to were wiped from the schedule. Prom, which was mine and my friend’s first chance to go, and which we had been looking forward to for so long, was canceled in just a single email. Just like that, I had NOTHING to do. Or, at least, so I thought.

But…Not All Was Lost

While in the beginning I felt very cut off and lonely, just like I’m sure many of you felt as well, I tried to make the most of it.

I could relax and take my time, without having to rush, and I could get all my school and chores done before practice or whatever activity we would usually have had that evening. My grades improved because they were my main priority. I completed drivers ed over quarantine, so I was able to get my permit once the BMV opened back up.

If something interested me, I had even MORE time to dive into it, because I had nothing else on my mind.

I Got to Know Me

More than anything else though, I was able to search myself and my heart to gain a deeper understanding of who I am becoming and who God made me to be.

I had spent so much time and energy on everything else before being quarantined, that I never really slowed down and got to know myself. Finally, I was able to take this time and pick out my strengths and weaknesses, using that knowledge to improve my character. I was also able to build on old hobbies and develop new ones. I hadn’t played piano in years, but because of the free time I had, I was able to pick it back up. With this strengthened skill, I will be able to help lead worship for our church in a new way when it opens back up!

God Is ALWAYS Working

This example just shows how amazing God truly is. I understand that this isn’t the most exciting COVID-19 story, but excitement isn’t everything. We know that God works in every circumstance. It doesn’t matter how big or small your story or experience is, God is GOING to use it. 

So as the world continues to open up in 2021, ask yourself this question: How could God use my story? Don’t panic if you can’t think of an answer right now. He will use it eventually, so keep your eyes open. Being vulnerable to you about my experience in this blog is part of how God is using my story, and I’m excited to see what he does with it!

If you’re still struggling with the repercussions of 2020, or if you just need a hand in processing all that has happened, there will be a Part 2 of this post next Monday which will tell how I got through my version of the pandemic struggles.

Until then, I recommend surrounding yourself with God by filtering your social media and music choices, and spending time in prayer,  in the Bible and with others who are walking with God too (see my blog post here called Staying Connected through Distance).

Remember that you are not alone! He is with you (Joshua 1:9). Sometimes all it takes is saying to yourself and believing in your heart, “I know this isn’t permanent, and no matter what happens God will bring good from it.”

If you don’t have a Bible at home, here are some free, online resources:

Biblegateway.com

YouVersion Bible App

Biblewalks.com

Also, here are some helpful song choices to get you through difficult times:

All This Time, by Brit Nicole

Even Then, by Micah Tyler

Reason, by Unspoken

Featured Post

Making life lemonade

Life can be so HARD! I’ve had whole years of my life when each day was filled with the kinds of challenges that make me tempted to ask Jesus to come back NOW, whether it’s in His plan or not. During these times, I was willing to beg if necessary. Pride was out the window, and begging was very much on the table.

Mother’s Day marked two years since the turning point of one such time in my life, and this week we get to celebrate the victory parade. See, on January 28, 2014, I had an intensive back surgery which was supposed to take 3-6 hours. However, 14 hours later, I was finally wheeled into recovery after what I’m told were a couple of close calls. I can neither confirm nor deny this, as I was drugged quite efficiently. The palor on my husband’s face was some indication though.

After this surgery, a downright difficult rehab dragged on. I mostly laid in a hospital bed which was set up in my living room, dealing with a multitude of physical symptoms that seemed as if they would bury me. I cried out to God on a nearly minute by minute basis during those first three months, and at least hourly for the next two.

When I was finally blessed with enough endurance to sustain a drive to the corner pharmacy, I was wiped out when I got home. I pleaded, “Oh God, I’m not ready for this life stuff. Make it go away for a little longer, please.” God is so good though. He told me no when two days later my husband needed me to drive him to the ER for a septic infection in his knee.

All the way to the hospital, I remember repeating in my head, “I can only do this through your strength. Jesus sustain me. Your Grace is sufficient for me.” Over and over, this was the refrain in my mind. “I know you never give us more than we can bear, Lord. Thank you for that!”

My dear husband’s first-time stay in the hospital  lengthened into what would become 8 days, and I sat up in a chair near his bed more in this period of time than I had sat in my whole 4 1/2 months of recovery. The begging began in earnest, “Please, Daddy, please. No more. Please protect us, and make it stop.”

As I brought him home from the hospital, I felt a hope begin to grow that we could at long last, move forward and be stronger, healthier people. Afterall, my husband was in this position because he had worn himself out taking care of me, our home, our kids and doing his job. He deserved a break, and so did I, right? Recovery had been painful and scary, leaving scars that still hurt today. Yes, we all needed a break, and surely God could see that. He sees everything. Yes, God knew, and my confidence in His willingness to spare us more stress and health issues was rock solid. Nothing could shake it, or so I thought.

As I was sitting in a lab with Brad, waiting to get his follow-up blood work done, I received a call from my best friend, who so lovingly cared for our boys during much of my recovery. It was not news about the break for which I had been hoping, but we certainly got a break…or at least, our oldest son did.

An extemely active child, he is always getting into major and minor scrapes, like breaking his arm, getting stitches in his chin, a few concussions…did I mention he was born blue and has always had severe asthma and allergies? Yeah, keeping him healthy is no more of a picnic than it is for me. So it was no surprise when my friend told me he had broken his arm…again…literally while I was taking care of a medical issue for his Dad, and desperately trying to hold my own body together.

Then I hear in my head, “Be brave and courageous, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

He was with me when I nearly died during my surgeries. He was there when Caleb was born not breathing and took four hours to stabilize. He was there with endurance and energy when I had to drive my husband to the hospital and sit with him for that long week. He was there now. Yes, God knew.

Just as God the Son knew that Peter, who asked to walk on water like Jesus was doing, would fall and nearly drown in the waves. Jesus knew Peter would take his eyes off the source of his strength, and stumble. That’s  why He was right there with a hand out to help him up when Peter called for Him.

It felt as though I was drowning too, but that’s when I realized I was throwing up prayers, but the eyes of my heart were focused on the problems, not The Solution. I was asking Jesus for help, but not putting my hand out expectantly to grasp the one who could provide it.

As this truth washed over me, I felt real strength and peace coursing through me. I started thanking God for the way He helped us endure these trials, instead of begging Him to make them stop. I smiled to think of how we would someday look back on this as a period of growth. I know it’s cliché, but I was taking the sour lemons Satan threw at my family and I, and letting God make some lemonade of our life.

So when Nate contracted strep throat later that week, I had my eyes on Jesus, so we soared right over that. When Caleb fell three times in the 10 days after getting casted, and had to have surgery, we had our eyes on Jesus. So, we ran that marathon, and we did not grow weary. As we spent the better part of two months driving Brad to work and wound care appointments, we walked, but did not faint. God was faithful, and with our eyes on Jesus, we could see it.

You see, God also knew that this truth of His blessing in our lives, even in tough times, would help someone else see Him, draw near to Him, and feel how very loved they are by Him. He was asking us to “take up [our] cross and follow Him.”

The question we had to answer was, would we choose it? Would we keep our eyes on Jesus, or shrivel under the pressure of difficulty. Would we let the lemons go to waste, or open our lives up for God to sweeten us and make us useful?

Could we possibly take up that heavy, splintery, humiliating cross, and drag it up a hill while many in our lives watched from the sidelines? Could we really handle all of this with Christ-like Grace?

No, probably not. Otherwise, Jesus could have stayed in Heaven. We knew we could try though, and learn something along the way. We could be open to the positive, and be willing to love sacrificially. Or…or, we could throw up the floodgates and simply be pipelines of God’s love to each other, and those around us. Choices, choices.

I’m not going to say we did any of these things well, but we tried well. We got through it. We learned from it. We were better, stronger, wiser and more compassionate for it.

It was like standing up on a stage and getting lemons thrown at us from all sides. We were bruised, and our cuts burned from the acidic quality of our circumstances. Then Jesus came on stage…the minute we asked him. He picked up the lemons, and showed us how to use them for refreshment, energy and relief.

He can do that, you know. He can take any situation and, show us how to squeeze the goodness from it, using it for our good and His Glory. If we would just ask.

And not to go all Pollyanna on you, but I’m so glad we did.

 

 

 

When God called me

When God called me

I woke up one night after dozing until about 2 am and thought, “I give up on sleep. It’s not worth the frustration. God, what do you want me to do with this time?”

So clearly that I could hear the sound of it bounce around my consciousness, I heard, “Write.” I was surprised it didn’t wake my peacefully sleeping husband.

Now, I have always been a writer, and graduated from college with a degree in journalism, so there is usually a notebook and writing utensil next to my bed. I picked them up. “Okay, Lord. What do you want me to write?”

Again, as clear as a bell, God spoke into my heart, “Read my word.”

Pause. “I’m sorry, Lord. Didn’t you say to write. I have a pen and my notebook. You know, the cute one that’s my favorite color and says, ‘Trust in the Lord with all your Heart’ on the cover.”

Amused silence. “Okay, I feel sheepish. I think I understand. Follow the advice on the cover of the notebook and read your word first. What should I read, Lord? Matthew? Okay, I’m reading.”

Suddenly, something lit up in me and sleep was the furthest thing from my mind. As you may know, after the lineage of Christ in Matthew, comes the Christmas story. Did I mention it was July 2?

Christmas in July sounds a bit cheesy, I know, but God was doing something. I went to bed early that night, thinking I would get some good sleep, and ease off some of the excruciating pain I dealt with everyday from childhood scoliosis, and the dilapidated surgical fusions which were daily wearing down on my nerves and muscles. I didn’t know God was going to call out to me in the middle of the night and start me on the next phase of this life he’s given me. But God knew, and after reading the Christmas story in both Matthew and Luke, I finally picked up that notebook and wrote the following:

“One day, a young woman named Mary, and her husband-to-be Joseph, entered the small town of Bethlehem. They didn’t know that on this night, Mary would give birth to their baby in a barn, and lay him on hay in a feedbox for animals. But God knew, and Jesus came.”

I had goosebumps all over, chills running up my spine, and tears streaming down my face. God was moving in me, doing something through me that was beyond my imagining, and truly even, beyond my understanding. I could visualize this moment with Mary and Joseph and feel the holiness, the preciousness of the moment. To this day, more than two years later, I don’t think I fully understand what God is going to do through this “But God Knew…” series of books, but I’m grateful he’s made me part of it.

Since that night, I have obediently kept writing, and by the grace of God, managed to pen a few books. God also drew one of my closest friends, Jennifer Huffman, whose art is featured in this blog, to illustrate them. The first book we are releasing, “But God Knew…and Jesus Called,” is actually our second book together. We’re saving that first Christmas book for later, but I am excited that this message which God shared with me that night is finally getting out in the way he wanted to tell it through us. The message that for all of his loved ones, he has always known what would happen, known the plans we had for ourselves, and had something infinitely better in mind – that message is so precious and such an honor to communicate.

That night, I began to realize that God was shaping me into a new creation. He was taking the best of what was and making it something new and better. I was beginning to see my vocational calling in Christ, and now firmly see that for the foreseeable future, God is going to ask me to read his word and write his heart.

I also hope you recognize your true identity in Christ. To borrow a line from every Veggie Tales movie ever, God made you special, and he loves you very much. He wants you to draw close to him because that is the best thing for you, and when you’re at your best, you can help others get there too. I hope the book series we’ve begun helps you get there. I pray that the social media and blog entries are an encouragement to you. Mostly though, I hope you begin to live everyday knowing that you are known by a God who really sees you and loves you…faults and all. You are known by a God who has plans to prosper you, to give you a hope and future, and it is very bright indeed.

Many blessings – Chele