NOW
It’s hard not to get lost in the questions these days.
A trip to the store — is now the time I’m going to breathe in air droplets that contain a deadly virus? Or will I just get the banana I intended to pick up in produce?
A walk in the neighborhood, when I come within five feet of a fellow neighbor who is walking instead of the required six. Is now the time when my life will change?
A food delivery (or pickup) because I believe strongly in supporting our local restaurants that are on life support at best. Is now an acceptable time to take the food I paid for?
All of the questions swirl, juxtaposed with a life that is slower than it was just a month ago. We sit on the porch and have a drink together at the end of the day (we both still have traditional work days, but we’re both working from home — me as usual and Wayne because his office sent him home to work).
I ask, wow did we go through all that effort and finally end up in a house that doesn’t have us in a financial stranglehold, just to end up not being able to enjoy it?
So many moments in my life, I’ve told myself … enjoy this moment NOW (when the kids were little, for example, or when I was sitting in a Broadway theater enjoying the show).
Now is the time to remember the beauty of each moment, and to pray for all of those that don’t have the blessing of drinking it all in.
Welcome to this week’s Five Minute Friday. Our instructions, via creator Kate Motaung: “Write for five minutes on the word of the week. This is meant to be a free write, which means: no editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation.” (But I can’t resist spell checking, as you can imagine.)
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
Dude, enjoy it, and don’t worry,
for these days will fly on by;
don’t retreat, you will be sorry,
and one day you’ll surely die.
Dude, do not hold back from giving
all the love God placed in you,
for this is why you’re living,
and you’re giving Christ his due
recompense for iron nails
that fixed His hands unto the Cross,
and that which you owe entails
actions that may bring you loss
of things like health, and life itself
in exchange for Heaven’s wealth.
Thank you, Andrew. This is all true — I knew I was writing from a relatively lightless place (for me). I appreciate your reminder & perspective.
I love this, Andrew!
I do think the now, the happenings going on in the world currently with COVID-19, is going to dramatically upend a lot of people’s little worlds. This time going to make or break people — their work/career, their personal lives including marriages, etc., and etc. And, the thought of what many are going through breaks my heart because I feel so fortunate that our house is almost paid off, my husband still has a career (working from home), etc., and etc. Like you said, now is the time to pray… and enjoy the beauty of rest and the slowing down of pace. Do all that we can to protect ourselves, trust in God, and let what comes, come.
~Your FMF neighbor
Yes, Lee Ann. That’s a really good way to put it. Thank you for visiting.
Sometimes life is what happens while we’re focused on something else!
The other day, my daughter said she had decided that she is living in the ‘good ol’ days’. Now. And she’s determined to continue!
I think we’re all going to come out of this with some type of changed perspective, for sure.
I’m hanging on to the hope that this will all be behind within a few weeks and we’ll be on our way back to a cautious new normal.
Yes – I don’t (right now) see a future without caution. But I’ll sure take one with joy.