Pre-Pandemic Pondering ... but God

My last day in the office on a regular basis was March 11th, 2020. It is difficult to fathom that it has been over a year since I have been regularly working from home. I remember that last week well for a few reasons.

The first reason has a lot to do with coffee. It may sound strange. I walked over to a coffee shop with a coworker to get a cup refill.  If you brought your own cup, it cost significantly less.  Jennifer and I headed out on a still cold day in March to get in a few steps and get some liquid joy at a good price. Upon arrival, we were told we could not, in fact, use our own cups. We weren't even allowed to pump our own coffee.  Good thing I had a moment of bagel weakness and had brought my credit card else we would have left coffee-less. That was honestly the moment when I knew things were serious.  I had no idea exactly how serious.  I assumed, as most probably did, a couple of weeks at best.

I can also tell you that the week before everything changed, I was incredibly stressed. JC had been attending daycare 3 times a week, and my mom had been taking care of him the other 2 days. My mom had just told me the week before that she was no longer able to do so. At 70+ years old, a 2 year old was just too much for her to handle for 8+ hours straight. The thought of putting my child into daycare 5 days a week all day long made me feel ill. I had no idea what to do. 

By the end of the week, I was working from home. Early the next week, I took JC out of daycare. I went from being stressed about JC spending too much time being raised by people I did not know to having him with me all week. 

Of course, since that week, I've had plenty of things to stress about. COVID, working virtually while caring for a child, lack of social outlets, vaccines, etc. It's not been the easiest of years, and I've had it a lot easier than some. I can say the week pre-pandemic was beyond stressful for me; all that changed in less than a week in a way I could never have imagined. I have heard it said many times that what the enemy means for evil, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Never have I seen that so clearly in my life as the week of March 9th, 2020. 

This post is simply a reminder to me, and perhaps you, that God is faithful. Even when life is stressful and difficult, God can bring good from all things. Sometimes the good he brings is immediate and clear. Sometimes it takes years to see.  Perhaps there are even times when we won't be able to see it until after our time on Earth is done. I will do my best to keep rejoicing. 

Philippians 4:4-7: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.