Beauty Can Be Found: life during the COVID-19 era

The world sure has changed in just a few short weeks, hasn’t it? And yet, as I try to adjust to a new normal (that will last until who knows when), I find that the old normal, in many ways, feels like a distant memory. What used to be normal—the hustle and bustle of early-morning commutes to school, evenings spent at the library for violin lessons, church services twice per week, 4-H meetings, eating out, packing lunches for school and work, out-of-state trips every two weeks for my daughter’s oral immunotherapy—has come to a screeching halt. 

And yet…in some ways, I’m still just as busy as ever. Things just look different now. I still have to get ready and leave the house every day to care for my elderly grandmother in her home. I’m so thankful she’s not in a nursing home right now. As I look through the glass door of our office, I see my husband wearing his headset and staring intently at the computer as he conducts work from home. Suddenly he’s the one with supper on the table when I walk in the door. 

The children are home from school and have just begun distance learning online. This is new territory as we try to learn the system and figure out what home schooling looks like at this stage in our lives.  It is quite a shift from the way we home schooled a few years ago when I was the teacher. 

We still have church services and violin lessons, but those are all conducted via Zoom now. As the adult Sunday School leader, I’m getting quite familiar with the platform. 

I’ve learned some hard lessons these past few weeks as I try to make our groceries stretch as far as possible in an attempt minimize trips to the store. 

First lesson:

We are spoiled. 

I had to sit down all my picky eaters and explain to them that we would now be eating a little differently.  Every person in the family would be eating the same meal—no making individual meals to accommodate each person’s taste buds. All leftovers would be finished off as well.

Cue the whining…

and the next lesson:

We are wasteful. 

We throw out far too much food that we forget about in the back of the refrigerator. No more of that! 

I also explained to the children that we would be snacking much less and would make sure that we finished open bags of snacks before digging into new ones. 

More whining. 

It took a few days, but the children are finally developing better eating habits. Which leads to the third lesson:

We are overeaters! 

There is a vast difference in the amount of food we were eating before vs. the amount we are eating now. And yet, we’re satisfied. We don’t miss all the food we thought we needed. We actually feel better without it. 

We’ve also reduced the amount of toilet paper and hand soap that we use. DON’T WORRY! We’re washing our hands often. But we’ve discovered that we don’t need huge globs of soap to do the job. Small amounts actually produce a good lather. Less soap…less waste…less money spent.

While life is still busy, as mentioned before, it’s a different kind of busy.  It’s a slower busy, if that makes sense.  Somehow my days are filled with more opportunities to find the beauty in life—or maybe the opportunities were there before, and I just wasn’t looking.

And that’s the fourth lesson:

Beauty can always be found if we just open our eyes and look around.

There’s beauty everywhere!

There is beauty in nature. Just look at the breathtaking tulips that my dear secret sister from church gave me—back when we could still gather (physically) for worship.

And the daffodils growing in my grandmother’s yard.

There is beauty in time spent with family. (I hope the COVID-19 scare has at least taught us that much.)

There is beauty in friendship. Being separated from dear friends has shown me just how much I value their presence in my life.

There is beauty in solitude—a time to reflect…meditate…pray…grow.

There is beauty in service.  I think of the many who are still physically serving their communities and risking their health because their jobs are essential to our needs. And those on the front lines, possibly risking their lives like soldiers on a battlefield, fighting an invisible enemy.  The sleepless nights, exhaustion, seclusion.  The selflessness… Their service is beautiful.

It’s like Albus Dumbledore says, “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

The world definitely seems pretty dark these days, but…wherever you are, whatever you’re facing, I pray that you are able to find beauty in the midst of it all…and that you’re able to turn on the light and share that beauty with others.

How has your normal changed since COVID-19 plowed it’s way into our world?

How have your eyes been opened recently?

What have you found to be beautiful that maybe you hadn’t noticed before?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. I love hearing from you. Let’s keep communication strong during this time.

Blessings!