Help with Quarantine Anxiety

I always have a choice. Jennie Allen

Originally, I was marinating on this quote from Jennie Allen’s new book, Get Out Of Your Head. It is a phenomenal book that I highly recommend.  Jennie talks about the importance of knowing you always have a choice in your response, your actions and your attitude. 

We have been talking a lot about this at home with our family. It applies to middle school drama, school work, housework, attitudes about life and parents (lol) and pretty much everything.

I realized today that it also applies to this crazy new season we find ourselves in. COV-19 has come to the United States and it is rocking our world. Our everyday routines, schedules and plans have been flipped on their heads. It’s like someone came and ripped the carpet right out from underneath us. It can lead to feelings of anxiety, restlessness and frustration. Please say its not just me :).

But you know what, I always have a choice.

I started marinating on that phrase again yesterday when one kid started an "organizing lego project" that got sidetracked into dumping all legos out and stopping to play Xbox one. And then another kid, decided to "redecorate their room" which got sidetracked into piles and piles of stuff scattered everywhere while making TikToks. Days like these can make a momma loose her cool. Mess and chaos everywhere- Ain't nobody got time for that!

But I always have a choice.

One of the most important things I talk about in simplifying your life, is identifying what season you are in. If you are home with a newborn or baby not sleeping through the night, it is probably not realistic for you to have a daily 530am workout. Don't do that to yourself. Be honest and know what season you are in.

So we have to be honest about where we are here in the middle of a pandemic of COV-19. We are not on vacation. This is not snow days off of school. This is different. I am choosing to understand where we are as a nation, community and as a family, which is frankly uncertain. 

Uncertainty is hard. Uncertain futures and plans are hard. Uncertain income and stability is hard. Uncertain health and crises are hard. Uncertain day to day is really hard.

But we all always have a choice.

We can choose to see this time as a gift instead of a burden. We can choose faith in a Sovereign God that this is all no surprise too. 

Now, I am not saying it doesn’t feel weird. But I am saying we can ignite our faith in times of uncertainty. We can intentionally pray over our leaders, families and world in these seasons of uncertainty. We can choose a lot of grace in our homes with our people and ourselves. 

Either way, we always have a choice. 

How are you choosing today?

Love, B