A few weeks ago, School of Missions ended the current trimester early due to COVID-19. As a result, I have come back to Pennsylvania to be with my family and to rest on vacations. I know that this virus has affected each of us in different ways, whether it’s due to the house isolation or the virus itself, but this is how it has currently touched me.
When I first arrived home, Holy Spirit said several things. First, He said to take a nap. I happily obliged, because I had just finished traveling 24 hours straight due to car travel and layovers in airports. After I woke up, Holy Spirit highlighted three words to me: preparation, forgiveness, and rest.
Preparation. As of now, the final trimester begins at the beginning of May. Unless the date changes, that means I have about a month left to be prepared for next trimester. There are several things I want to do before I go back.
First, I am creating good habits–these include exercising and creating a schedule that I can stick to when I go back to Rancho. This includes weekly chores. Second, I have been working to make money. It’s a slow process because I can’t leave the house, but my family has granted me many opportunities to make money. I am very thankful for them.
Third, I have a big to-do list that I have been working on. Honestly, it has saved me from a lot of boredom and from sitting in front of a computer and/or the television all day. The list has to do with completing and organizing my items, getting a new phone (I had previously lost mine in Mexico) and practicing Spanish.
Forgiveness. Before I left to Rancho last August, there were several people I had unresolved issues with. I thought that by the time I arrived to Mexico that I had forgiven them. But I believe that little by little God has been revealing to me that I had not fully forgiven some of the people. Others I had.
In the months leading up to March, I did have bitterness in my heart, and I realized that it was soon affecting some of my relationships with the people at Rancho. In fact, I did not want to be open and vulnerable with anyone. It was a struggle to tear those walls down. But God showed me (especially in these past few weeks) how to forgive each person individually, and also how to forgive myself for things I did that I really regretted doing in the past.
This forgiveness has helped me to share mercy, and has lifted a lot of weight that had been on my shoulders. I am grateful to God, and for my friends, who have helped me to reshape my identity into someone more powerful than I was previously.
Rest. I struggle with this a lot. I’m not even going to try to get out of it. I have always thought rest was something that was boring. For me, it’s easier to have something constantly going on. I continually had to have some type of objective. My mind runs all over the place.
When Holy Spirit told me to rest, I dug deeper to see how I could rest. One thing He said to do was fill my soul box. This saying is very common at The Mission. It means to find the things that fill our soul–make us happy. For me, I had to learn that step-by-step. I needed to learn what made me happy, because for a very long time I just did the thing that made others happy.
Since I have been home, there are several things I have found that fill my soul box. These include playing board games (and video games), cooking, baking, drawing, writing, and–unexpectedly–going through old memories. As I have been cleaning out my room to thoroughly organize, I found multiple boxes of my old drawings, birthday cards, stories I wrote when I was a kid, and lots of stuffed animals that caused old memories to flood back.
Another way I have been finding old memories is through starting a new tradition with me and my siblings. Saturday Morning Cartoons. When I was younger, my family would always watch the Boomerang Channel with Scooby-Doo, the Jetsons, Tom and Jerry, and more, and then we had many other shows we would watch.
I decided to start doing that again. I made a list of all the cartoons we have access to on Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Disney+, and I wake up to make a fun breakfast for everyone (along with coffee, of course), and then we take an hour or so watching cartoons. That fills my soul so much.
Of course, I know that this virus is a struggle for a lot of us, but I want to take a moment and encourage you. There are good things coming out of this. This virus is something we have authority over, and we should take advantage of that. We should also take advantage of being home–whether alone or with family–and resting.
When was the last time you just did nothing? When was the last time you played a board game with your family? I encourage you–if you have the opportunity, take it!
Also, this is the perfect opportunity for you to take to spend time with God. Go to the secret place and just soak in his presence. If you can, get outdoors and listen to nature. Treat yourself well, because there are opportunities to be with Papa God during this time. It’s hard to make excuses to not spend time with God when you literally have nothing to do. Take time. Pray with Him, and just love Him and let Him love you in those little moments.
Until quarantine is over, my goal is to continue writing. I don’t necessarily know about what just yet, but I do want to express in writing the things I have been hearing. I also want to share ways to stay away from boredom, and maybe stories of how interesting things are getting by being surrounded by family constantly.
Shalom–peace be with every one of you during this time. And I encourage you–if you need prayer for anything, I am here, and so are many others. Speak up.
JULIA MCKENNA MYERS 