1.Remember that this chapter of your life will not be entitled “PANDEMIC”
Give yourself grace in learning to maneuver a season that we have never walked through in our lives, but don’t give up on what God has placed inside of you because of it. The world is not over and neither is your purpose. I encourage you to really utilize this time with God and figure out the title of this season of your life. It might actually be “Preparation” or “Consecration” or my personal favorite, “Can you hear me now?...good”.
2. Pray for Clarity
I don’t know about you but prior to this pandemic I was really caught up in myself and what I was going to do with this next season of my life. I was stressing myself out with this idea that I should be more, I should do more, I should believe in myself more, and there’s nothing wrong with taking inventory of your life and making sure that you are making steps towards those goals you’ve set, as long as you don’t leave God out of the planning process. Sometimes we get so caught up in not knowing what to do next that we do nothing at all or we do nothing productive. During this time, I encourage you, as I encourage myself, to not pressure yourself to figure out life alone. You were not created to crack the code that is you alone and I’m sorry to tell you this, but as long as you think you are in control of your life, you will forever be caught in these anxiety ridden thought patterns because that beautiful mind you have only works at it’s best when it is partnered with the one who created it. Use this time to ask God what you’re supposed to be doing before you do it. Save yourself from the stress of figuring it out by yourself.
3.Believe for Better, not Worse
The fear that is pressed upon all of us is that when this is all said and done that things will be worse. Social media is covered with memes and gifs of us cancelling 2020 because this year didn’t meet the standards of greatness that we just knew it would. Here’s the thing. 2020 WAS NEVER OUR YEAR. It was always God’s year, and we have to realize that he will do what he needs to do in it to get glory in it. I know this season sucks and no one wants to hear that God is at work in something that is literally taking lives y'all. However, does anyone realize that for the first time in our lifetimes, God gave the entire word a collective “ go sit down somewhere”?Do you realize that every time he had someone sit down in the Bible it was to prepare them for something that they would have to stand courageously in? We get so comfortable with mediocrity that if God gave us that opportunity we’ve dreamed of we would not even know what to do with it because we haven’t spent time sitting with him. Do you realize your life could be better after this pandemic? God has not held up blessings in heaven that he can’t release until after quarantine. God's will is not cancelled. He has something for you now, but you cannot tap into that if you spend your days pouting about how unfair this is.
4. Love People
We all have to work extra hard to love people in this season, and when I say people, that does not exclude your family. In our normal day to day lives we have to work to make time for people but now that we have time we have to use it wisely. Do you know that someone’s healing could be attached to you randomly calling them? All of us are dealing with these areas of our hearts and minds that we have covered with busyness, and I can only speak for myself but ya’ll healing is not pretty, especially when you can’t unsee what you saw in yourself, but it is for God’s glory that we might become whole and free so that we can encourage that freedom in others, so love people hard. Call that friend who you haven’t talked to in a awhile, forgive that person who you said you never would, and when you pray, go to bat for these people! Call them into their calling, speak breakthrough and right timing over their lives. Also, it's not summer yet ya'll but it is pool season and the pool I'm talking about can found in John chapter 5. Your quiet time is important because that is where your healing is going to lie, and as much fun as a hot girl summer sounds, a healed girl summer is way more valuable for what God has in store for you in 2020. Let's get in the water and encourage our friends to get in with us.
5.Learn
This is one of my favorites. This is the time to become a sponge or as T.D. Jakes once said “throw everything you can against the wall and see what sticks”. Some of us don’t even know what we like because we’ve wasted so much time believing we’re not really good at anything so why try. Try everything. Paint, draw, teach, write, do whatever God has given you a little bit of interest in and believe that that “hobby” could very well be something connected to your destiny !
Praying that you abide in Christ in this time and that your 2020 is marked with miracles!