Page 19 - The Standard Volume 4

home, avoiding close contact, keeping our families inside and safe as we were advised to do, how do we reacclimatize? What do we do with our babies who cry when they see strangers? It is the unintended effect of only seeing immediate family and grandparents for an entire year, and those of us who birthed pandemic babies, their entire lives! How do we stop seeing every playground and drinking fountain as a weapon of mass destruction? How do we deal with the post traumatic stress every time one of our children sneezes? (Am I the only one who still yells, “WHY DID YOU SNEEZE? DO YOU FEEL SICK?!?!” Then proceeds to shove extra vitamins down the child’s throat and fumigate the entire house?) Eighteen months ago, we all would have laughed at the absurdity of these questions, but here we are now in complete solidarity and solemn (okay maybe a little bit tongue-in-cheek) understanding.
Mothering in the era of COVID-19 will always be a part of us. It made us stronger, wiser, and more flexible. It changed all of us; and yet, we all changed in different ways. As seasons go, it’s time to press forward again shedding off yesterday’s weights and embracing the wisdom we gained.
Key #1: Acknowledge God is in Control
If we learned anything from the past year, it is this: WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL. If we said we believed we were not in control prior to March of 2020, this pandemic has shown us all that we have less control than we ever believed. As Christians, the most important knowledge with all of our might to cling, is that our hope is in
JESUS CHRIST, HIM CRUCIFIED and RESURRECTED.
We can read the news and follow every piece of so-called guidance from the powers that be, but none of that will save us in the end. Only Jesus can do that—both now and in eternity. The Bible says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4, KJV). It is time more than ever to embrace the life of Christ and reflect His light, while shedding off the fear, despair and darkness that tried to clothe us during this global pandemic.
We are humans and naturally respond to adversity (even Jesus had emotions during life events during his time on earth). We may have experienced fear, grief, anger, or a plethora of emotions. In the beginning, middle and end, we must stand on what we know. Our God is in control! Not even a sparrow falls without his consent (Matthew 10:29). He foresaw what we could never predict. He holds the future in His hand. He does not need our assistance. And yet, it is our choice to trust Him. It is our choice to turn our faces away from the doom and despair of a world that would seek to bombard and devour us, and turn our faces to Jesus and ask Him what is next. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? As a mama bear who just wants to see my babies grow up in an equitable and safe world, what am I to do?
Setting our hope on Jesus and relinquishing control to Him is the foundation for moving forward. We really cannot go on until this is FIRMLY settled in our minds and hearts. If we do not accept and stand firmly, we will still seek to control life in ways that God did not ordain for us. We may take on battles that were never meant for us to fight.
We will grasp with futile strength to protect ourselves and our families from the trials that inevitably come with living. It is a daily surrender. In our humanity, we desperately want to control our lives. When we feel out of control, we are the worst versions of ourselves. We get impatient. We feel anxiety. We grasp at what we can while figuratively drowning. We yell for God’s help and are too busy flailing and trying to save ourselves that we don’t see His hand calmly in front of us, reaching to pull us out of our troubled waters, if only we would hold on and trust Him. God is, was, and always shall be in control. We can trust Him with our lives and our children’s lives.
Key #2: Acknowledge God’s Faithfulness
If you are reading this article, you did survive the pandemic that plagued our land. God allowed you to remain on this earth to fulfill His purpose for your life. Many of us lived in survival or crisis mode for a long time. We did what we had to do. We adjusted to the circumstances that surrounded our
lives. Our children also survived. As mamas, our next phase is crucial. We have the unique and matchless gift from God to train up our children in the way they should go. We even have the ability to shape this past experience for them. No, we cannot change the experiences of the past year, but our words, attitude, and actions will
determine how they remember this time.
One of the most moving and dramatic movies I have ever seen is a foreign film called Life is Beautiful, starring the Italian actor and producer, Roberto Benigni. The movie was set during World War II. A Jewish Italian bookshop owner and his son spent two years in an internment camp. During the entire movie, the father convinced his son that their experience was a game. Every horrific experience was a part of the game where the little boy believed he would win a ride in an American tank when it was all over. There was a time when the little boy had enough and told his father he didn’t want to play the game anymore. His father dramatically said, “All right, I will tell them we are leaving this place and you do not want to win the prize. It is too bad since we are so close to the end, but you do not want to ride in the tank anymore and we are leaving now!” Of course, leaving was not an option. But the child didn’t know that. The little boy decided, “Okay, okay! No papa, I want to stay! I want to win the prize!”
The past year was difficult for all of us. Yet we have the choice to say, “That was so hard. It’s so hard. This was terrible
God
Control
IS IN
God
IS
Faithful
June 2022 | THE STANDARD 19