Thoughts

I don't get out much lately. I make a food-shopping trip about once a week. I will run the occasional errand for my mom, and I attend our church by way of drive-in. We sit in our cars in the parking lot and the live service is broadcast over radio signal. We get to go to church and socially distance at the same time. For the first couple of weeks into the shutdown, I was staying at my folks' place. My mom had a pacemaker installed, and so I stayed around to help out wherever needed. Now that she's doing better and being released from restrictions, I am back home.

When I've been out, it has been strange to see emptier streets, emptier stores. Restaurants' parking lots are empty except for a couple of employee cars, and drive-thrus are being utilized so people can enjoy their favorite fast-food. This is the new normal, and it's not fun. However, I understand why. The less that people move around, the less likely the virus will spread. Hopefully this will peak soon, and begin to blow out of here. I'm ready to get my life back, I'm ready to see my kiddos. I've seen some of my kiddos by way of zoom, facetime, and facebook, but I've ready for high-fives and fist-bumps. I believe in the power of prayer, and I'm praying for a quick end or a cure. I'm thankful that social distancing doesn't apply where God is concerned.  

To keep myself busy and to keep from going insane, there have been several things I've been doing. I have taken part in zoom staff meetings, and have been doing some webinars to keep up my professional development. I've also begun to de-clutter my house and deep-clean. My house wasn't dirty or messy to begin with, but I've put more elbow grease and resolve in my day-to-day cleaning. I have also finally finished putting together my Israel display. It looks so nice, but now I don't have anyone to show it to, LOL. Maybe after this is all over and done with.

On my last shopping trip, I used the opportunity to grab some things for my spring garden. On the docket are tomatoes, corn, sunflowers, radishes, green beans, okra, cucumbers, pumpkins, and cantaloupe. I'm also going to attempt to grow some peppermint and lavender. Having fresh produce can be a valuable asset. I typically end up giving away a lot of my produce, so when that time comes, I'll make that announcement via this blog post. A good incentive to stay tuned!  :-)
A friend of mine come over last week and did a beautiful job of tilling my garden area. It looks so beautiful, and I want to get out there and plant, but it's still too early. I've seen April snows and freezes, and I typically wait until the last few days of April or early May before I plant. Working in my yard is therapy for me. I love to go out into my garden area and plant, weed, and feed my veggies. I'm praying for a good growing season.  

As we wind through these long days, I just feel compelled to pray. I look at Facebook a few times a day, and I say a prayer for the names that I see. If there is anything that you need, any way that I can help, I hope that you'll get in touch with me. My email is brotherinchrist2000@yahoo.com. From there, I can give you my cell number if needed. Don't try to get in touch with me via messenger, as my account doesn't work properly.

I am praying for you. God is in control, and we're going to get through this. Let's just agree to pray and lift each other up. Thanks for taking to time to read this, and God bless you!