I have heard from many people during this pandemic season that they feel like they are living in the movie Groundhog Day, where the main character relives the same day over and over again. Sometimes these days can seem to stretch on forever with little change, and we don’t have big plans to look forward to or answers to the questions of when we can do things we have hoped to do. I feel especially for those who are in nursing homes and care facilities, sometimes limited to just their room for months on end with no visitors to break up the monotony.
In some ways, it is similar with grieving a loved one. It’s like someone hit a giant pause button, and life doesn’t go anywhere for a bit. Even so, there are signals of change all around us, albeit small ones. The flowers bloom. The trees leaf out. The kids keep growing. My hair keeps turning more gray.
I am a person who loves making milestones a big deal. We celebrate birthdays, holidays, last days of school, any sort of milestone. I want to throw a party and invite everyone to participate in some way of acknowledging what has passed. But now the celebrations have changed, and they are much smaller and less populated.
We can believe that with nothing to look forward to, we are stuck. We feel like we are living the same day over and over. But this morning God reminded me that this time can be a gift.
I know, I know—you think I’m crazy. But if we can accept the slow instead of fight it, acknowledge the small moments instead of the big ones, and look forward to little treasures rather than the big adventures, we can see the present as a gift.
It’s sort of like living our entire earthly lives waiting for heaven. Don’t get me wrong—I’m excited about having no more pain, tears, etc. But I want to recognize how Jesus’ Life in me brings a bit of heaven to whatever hell I’m in today. I don’t want to just wait for heaven in the future, but see it present, living and breathing in my daily life.
So, whatever your groundhog day experience might be, start by welcoming Jesus into it. Make the small celebrations important. Focus on the people you can reach out to, even if it’s by some form of technology. Ask Jesus where you can bring light and life to someone today. Get your focus off the things you are missing (although we can acknowledge those, but don’t get stuck there) and move it into all you have in the Life of Christ within.
Today, I’m going to do remote school with my kids, and remind them that we are almost done! I’m going to make lunch (for the 75 billionth time) but we are going to eat it outside in the beautiful sunshine we have today. I will talk to people in counseling this afternoon that may not be feeling great, and keep putting hope and Life in front of them. My kids will argue, but I know it’s hard to be together all the time and I’m thankful that they have each other. I’m going to find the beauty in the mundane today, even when I don’t have a milestone to look forward to, because I have heaven with me.
The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you. 1 Thessalonians 5:24