I laid on the trampoline in the backyard staring at the sky as the sun warmed my face. These new rhythms of life have done something in my soul. God has used them to reveal places of my life that need a desperate working out.
I feel as though God had to take away all the extra things in my life for me to feel the sun on my face again.
He needed to slow me down for me to see that the busy days I have been living were keeping me from a faith that will be lasting. He is giving me a fresh start.
My conversations are littered with the words, “I don’t know that I want to go back, truthfully I don’t know that I can.” Quarantine has changed me for the better, it has altered the view I have of life and faith, and I won’t go back to the way it was before.
Too busy to breathe.
Too busy to lean in and listen.
Too busy to laugh and linger.
Too busy to savor.
Too many hands in the wrong pots.
Too many burdens that are not mine to carry.
Too little time in my Bible.
Too little time in prayer.
Too little time with my people.
Too little time being changed daily by the Gospel.
Do you see why I cannot go back? My life is different in this place, and it took a pandemic to open my eyes. I know I am not the only one who is looking at life differently now. Watching and wondering how we could ever go back to the old way of life when we have been so changed from being here. How do we make a fresh start?
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1. Don’t do what you have always done.
It’s time to examine the way things have been. What wasn’t working in your life? How can you change going forward? Dig deep; this is the place and the time to ask the hard questions about your life.
2. Escape busy.
Where has busy robbed you of joy, peace, laughter, rest? I think the greatest lesson we can learn from all this is that busy is the thief of good things. We are never more ineffective and absent than when we are stretched thin on time and overwhelmed by tasks. Now is the time to ask, where can I cut busy from my life? Be ruthless.
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3. Keep spiritual habits.
Maybe during this season, you have opened your Bible more, prayed more often, and created some wonderful spiritual habits. Don’t let those go simply because we are headed into a more normal space. Don’t allow those to be the first things to fade. They have held you up through this time. Let them continue to hold you up for the future.
4. Make different choices.
I am making different choices about my health, my family, and my business. These choices to change habits are going to be fuel to the fire of making change.
I plan to continue the healthy choices I have made for my body and mind, like walking, eating healthy, and weekly counseling. For my family, we will keep our weekend movie nights and puzzles. We will keep our evenings free of clutter so we can be together.
For my business, I will choose different hours of work so that the choices I have made in other areas of my life will stand. I will work smarter, not harder. Remember, every choice adds up.
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5. Don’t take the precious things for granted.
We have long taken things for granted in this life, not just the big things like our families, but things like freely going to the store, or heading to church, even gathering with friends.
One of the greatest areas I feel I have taken for granted is my family. The time that we get together is so valuable, and it has been squandered in these last few years being sacrificed on the altar of busyness. I won’t go back to that place again.
6. Honor going to church.
I think I can speak for so many who often looked at church as a burden, but now realize what a joy it is to gather together in worship. Let us honor the time we get to spend in the house of God with the people of God. May we never again complain or find church a burdensome place to be.
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7. Be gracious to people.
While things won’t be fully back to the way they used to be for a long time, we will have to embrace normal in a new way. That new way will look like wearing masks, keeping our distance amongst other things. We need to be gracious to others, knowing that they are walking the same new road we are. They may be dealing with circumstances we will never understand, but we can be gracious and kind because people need it.
6. Don’t settle.
I won’t settle for going back to the way things were. I won’t settle for mediocre, busy, no rest, no grace kind of life. I won’t settle for anything less than God’s best. What is God’s best for you? What has he shown you in this place that will keep you from settling going forward?
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9. Fix your eyes on hope.
As we go forward, there will be ups and downs. There will surely be setbacks and starting again, but we can be confident that no matter what, we can fix our eyes on hope.
10. Believe God.
More than anything, as we start fresh after quarantine, we need to believe God. Believe that He is faithful, His word is true, and His promises will endure. I can be confident in God that no matter what trouble may come my way, God is in control.
A fresh start doesn’t mean a perfect start; it simply marks a new beginning. A time where we get to choose if we will keep doing things that didn’t work, or if we will continue in the lessons that God has taught us along the way.
Michelle Rabon is a wife and homeschooling mom of three who feels called to help women thrive in their walk with Jesus every day. In 2012, she started Displaying Grace, a ministry that is focused on helping women engage with God’s Word. Michelle has also served in women’s ministry for the past five years seeking to equip women in the local church through Bible study. When she is not writing or teaching, she enjoys reading, being close to the ocean, and drinking a lot of coffee.
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Originally published Monday, 02 August 2021.
