This week we will be returning to school. There is a sense that we are going back to normal although I know it will be a while before things get back to how they were.
It is important to understand this time and the situation many of us are in. Going back doesn’t feel a good thing. It sounds, and often feels like we are resigning ourselves to something that has negative connotations. For many of us during this time of restrictions, we haven’t been able to do the normal activities that make up part of our busy lives. The result of this has been that we have been forced to spend longer periods of time at home and have been stripped of the distractions and rushing around that takes place. I have been amazed at how many things I used to cram into a week.
The thought of returning to such a lifestyle leaves many of us asking questions about how we spend our time. Is it possible to still have quieter times? Can we avoid the charging about and inevitable exhaustion that goes with it?
These are valid and important considerations. For many of us the busyness is unavoidable. That is daunting and for some overwhelming, but perhaps there is a solution. I am confident that there is a different way to approach life and that the qualities we have been forced to put into our lives don’t have to be swallowed up by the returning to normality.
Firstly, we mustn’t see this time as going backwards. Rather, we have had a different period of time in which we have had the opportunity to see and do things differently. We take this into the next stage of our lives. It becomes interwoven.
Secondly, for those that follow Christ, we are told that we will not be given more than we can bear. We will be stretched and tested but not broken. In other words, we may face many challenges in the days ahead, but we face them with a different viewpoint. Rather than a sinking feeling of going back to a hectic life, we can have an excited anticipation for the future as we boldly step forward into the challenges with a broader sense of the important values that have been cultivated during this difficult time. Sometimes God takes us back to revisit something so that we can learn the lessons we need to, in order to move forward. This is not the same as going backwards; we mustn’t feel as though we are losing ground, instead we continue to journey forward.