"Shelter in Place". Only in my survivalist-training-imaginings would I have expected the world to be called upon to shelter in place for several weeks (at this point) to allow the passover of a new virus from spreading and infecting further nuclear family units.
Long before the Enneagram, I knew that some people were "glass half-full" or "glass half-empty". I knew this because my mother used to tell me often that I was looking at 'name-the-situation' as glass-half-empty. (I thought I was being realistic.)
After six decades of living, I still identify (but to a much lesser degree) with Eeyore, the raggedy donkey of Winnie the Pooh stories. Moses, of The Exodus fame, is also a part of my tribe. He famously resisted God's instructions to go and tell Pharaoh to let His people go due to speaking insecurities.
Many years ago I learned of four basic temperaments, or personality types:
Sanguine (enthusiastic, active, and social)
Choleric (short-tempered, fast, and irritable)
Melancholic (analytical, wise, and quiet)
Phlegmatic (relaxed and peaceful)
I identify as a melancholic and let's just say that the "quiet" part of me was very pronounced as a young person. I was quite content to read a good book or play with a toy or draw alone, by myself. Speaking in front of a classroom caused my mind to freeze, unable to recall what I was presenting, much less any of the facts I had memorized. Laughter or mean-spirited comments from fellow students as I slunk back to my desk only made things worse and I resolved to find ways to never have to go through that again.
Now that our nest has been empty for quite some time, I still enjoy the quiet, doing things by myself. But I have also grown. I can speak in front of people and enjoy it (as long as I view it as 'sharing'), I appreciate good company and the enjoyment of deep conversation. Friendship and family connection is dearer now.
When the quarantining (SIP) started, there were the half-jokes going around that the introverts needed to check on their extrovert friends---because they might not be doing very well at sheltering-in-place, with no contact with the outside world. But really, everyone---including those higher-up in age or the infirmed, need social interaction, too.
These last few weeks reminded me of my mom and how she must have felt, in her 80's, living by herself. As she slowed down, driving errands around town and walks around the block came to a standstill. Life closed in on her like a packing box. When Mom realized she needed to give up driving, her weekly hair appointment only happened because her hairdresser (bless his heart) chose to pick her up and bring her home. She soon found that walking a few doors down to visit a close friend was out of the question due to balance issues. Her friends' visits to her home became less and less regular as her ability to speak a coherent sentence lessened and the conversations became one-sided. Her world was closing-in fast.
It was then that I chose to quit my job to drive down and spend 24 hours with her, but it was only once a week. And let me tell you, if I told her I was arriving about 10:30 a.m., I better be there on the dot! One time, as I was rounding the bend to her home, I saw that she was already standing outside of the front door, waiting for me. I told myself right then and there that I need to remember this--for future reference.
The future is here. To varying degrees we all are learning what it is like to be cloistered behind the walls of home--like in a packing box ready to have the top flaps closed. For all of us, life has been altered. Lives have been lost. For me, a very special, once-in-a-lifetime Family Trip to the California coast this month with all our kids and grandkids had to be cancelled. The world-wide pandemic has caused cancellations of wedding celebrations and school graduations. Concerts cancelled. Businesses closed. Churches sit empty. Jobs furloughed or lost. The simplest of pleasures, like sitting on the sand at a beach, have been forbidden. And let's not forget about the empty shelves at grocery stores and masks. Life has been up-ended. Glass half-empty?
Or is the glass overflowing? In this "quiet" time, God is speaking to people that are listening for His voice. He is giving new revelation and showing how to manage in the now and then how to go on from here. He is answering the prayers of the saints--moving on their behalf. I would like to share a new song that has recently released, by the worship band Here Be Lions. https://www.herebelions.org God gives us the authority to speak peace and life over people and situations. So right now, wherever you are, I speak peace and life, in Jesus' name, over you. Shalom.
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