How 200 Walks Prepared me For 2020

For much of the world we are starting to peek our heads out of our homes for the first time in months. We are slowly reopening or at least talking about when and what that will look like. I, like most of you, have mixed feelings about all that.

But that’s not what we are talking about today. Today I want to talk about the apocalypse. Yeah, that’s right, I said apocalypse. Because the Biblical definition of apocalypse doesn’t mean the end of the world, it simply means the revealing. It means the uncovering.

And no matter what you think of this time, it could rightly be called an apocalypse. So before we move forward into the new normal, I think we should take a minute to reflect on what has been revealed. And while this could go in a ton of different directions (don’t get me started on the idols that have been uncovered in this time) I just want to move forward with this one positive questions:

What are you keeping from quarantine?

What good thing has this time opened up in your life that you will hold on to as we move forward? What good thing is God trying to give you out of what has otherwise been difficult and devastating on a whole lot of levels?

For me, I have a few things I didn’t realize I needed until I had all the time in the world to figure it out.

Family Style Meals

For years I had five very small kids. It was more expedient and convenient to simply plate their food and have them come grab plates. In the wide stretches of nothing to do I realized not only is expediency and convenience a not a priority, but while I wasn’t looking my kids grew up and became incredibly capable. So now we all chip in to meal times, someone sets the table, we bring all the food there and pass it around. It’s lovely and slow and so enjoyable.

While I know we can’t do this nearly as often as life starts to rev back up, it’s a practice I’ll be keeping as often as possible as we move on.

A Walk/Jog

Listen, I was never going to be the fitness queen. I don’t particularly like to work out, but even amongst work outs, cardiovascular exercise is the worst. My oldest son, who is completely obsessed with football, got on a workout kick and ended up asking about going for a jog. So I downloaded a couch to 5K app and took off with a couple of my kids. Surprisingly, it actually feels kind of good. It feels like a kindness to my body, and a gift of time with my kids. We only go every other day (I’m not trying to get crazy) so I feel like this is a manageable keep.

Work Flow

I’ve managed to find a good work rhythm and strangely enough? It’s one that would easily fit into what was formerly know as my “regular” life. I don’t expect the new normal to look the same (budget alone will mean less activities, I’m not mad about it), but even at a faster pace I've found a way to get work done regularly. It wasn’t so much about finding the time, but figuring out how much time certain tasks actually take. The more consistently I’ve done them, the more confident I’ve gotten that I can actually get them done in the margins of my day.

Now it’s your turn to reflect on this apocalypse, what has it revealed in you life? Specifically, what are you keeping? Let us know in comments below!

Don’t forget that WORD is available through this week! If you’ve already done the class I’d love for you to share it with a friend or send me some feedback!

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