This shelter-in-place stuff is starting to get to me, and God knows how much longer it will be.  It’s not that I was overly social to start with, but the projects around the house are losing their appeal.  I need a haircut.  My kids are driving me crazy and the walls are closing in. What on earth can I do?

I could have written this question.  I hear you, and I empathize.

I need to be real with you.  There are days when I’m teary, grumpy, uninspired, and unfocused.  I’ve taken my own advice by calling people on the phone, baking bread, cleaning my house, working on projects, and more.  But here I am.  Really tired of this virus.

Time to stop and take stock here.

I have a climate-controlled home to live in with people that I love.  We have more than enough food to eat and electricity with which to cook it.  We have no shortage of fresh water.  The homeless population in our community can make no such claims.

We have everything we need.  Just a week before all this started to come apart I bought a 45-roll pack of toilet paper from Sam’s Club so we’re good there.  I can still get out to the grocery store for supplies, and I can pay for them.

We have a steady income. Thanks to retirement and Social Security, our income has not changed (not yet, anyway).  Many folks are out of work.  At one restaurant we frequent, the majority of the servers are single moms.  Single moms who now have no wages and no tips.

Between the books in our library, the drawers full of DVDs, 3 streaming services, the boxes of craft supplies and fabric, and a woodshop full of tools and lumber and possibilities, there is enough to keep us busy to for a lifetime.

So what is the problem? Why do we get so antsy?

This is a time of great unknown.  Will we be in infected? How long will we be required to stay at home? Can our economy survive? How will our cities recover?

Ahh.  These are anxiety causing unknowns.  As much as anything, I think the unknown is what gets to us.  We are used to thinking we’re in control, when in reality, we’re not at all.

I know Who is.

This is the time, even more than normal, to be surrendered to the will of God.  He has our destiny well in hand and no matter what happens from here – even if this is the beginning of the end, we need not fear. God has promised to take care of our every need. He knows the number of hairs on our heads and He knows how this will turn out. He will get us through. 

I’m talking to myself here as well as to you: start every day in a prayer of committal.  Commit the day to God and His service. Commit your anxiety regarding an unknown future to Him and trust Him to work out the details. Commit those you love to His loving care. Pray to remain safely in His hands. Read Psalm 91. Remember how he has provided in the past. Take a deep breath, releasing your worries as you exhale, and being filled with His hope and His love as you inhale.  God’s got this.

Love,
Gigi

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”  
–Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)