And so begins a New Year with all the hopes of things being different. Everyone hopes that somehow because we are in a New Year that Covid-19 will somehow have only been a bad dream and we will all wake up from our 9 month sleep and find the world as we knew it. Only, that is not the reality of our world. Covid – 19 is our reality and just like 9/11 changed our lives, so Covid-19 has changed our lives. We must accept these changes and learn to adapt to them rather than be controlled by them.
That is the hard thing about this virus, we all in some way or another are controlled by it. We can’t go into a store without a mask (at least here in Michigan). Kids can’t go to school as they normally did. Children cannot visit their elderly parents in an assisted living, nursing home, or other congregate living like they once could. Visitors in the hospital must be limited. The list is endless.
So in some respects we are controlled by the virus, but I propose to you that it all honestly is a mindset. When I go into a store with the requirement of wearing a mask, I don’t think I am being made to do this. Rather, I am thinking that I am doing this out of respect for others. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” (Matt. 7:12). Whether I think masks work or not is beside the point. The point is that we have a responsibility to treat others with respect.
I have purposed that my mindset is to respect others.
So, what things have you purposed for your New Year’s resolutions?
My biggest resolution this year is connection. Covid-19 has made it very difficult to connect with people as we once did. I love to entertain, and this year my entertaining has been very limited. Actually, non-existent. Even some of the things that we tried to plan had to be cancelled. I bet many of you have experienced similar things. So my goal for this year is to do a better job at connecting with people, but being creative with it.
I rarely pick up the phone to call anyone just to chat. I always have a purpose in my phone calls. I figure that if I am in the middle of something when someone calls than someone else must be too. Also, with the advent of text, most of us just text. That way we are not interrupting anyone. However, the connection isn’t the same. It’s better than no connection, but still not the same.
So my first resolution is to call people just to chat. So as to be conscientious of people’s time, we’ll only chat for 10 minutes or so.
My other way I have already been trying to connect with people is to go for walks with them. I have lived in a few different places in my life, and every time someone from the area I used to live in posts a picture of somewhere they have walked I always think, “I’ve never been there.” So that doesn’t happen here where we currently live, and have only lived for 4.5 years, I have been trying to go to different trails and walk them with someone. Every walk has been an adventure. Sometimes they take longer than I had planned, but the memories and the scenery are treasures.
Since Covid-19 has changed the landscape of our lives, I think the goals we establish for 2021 should take that into account.
Make some goals. Share them with me. And ask me how I am doing. Too often I get too busy with tasks and I lose sight of what is really important, and that is people.
Only 2 things last forever: God’s Word and people. We would be wise to invest our time in both.
Happy New Year!
