2 Thessalonians 3:11 -13 “We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy but busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.”

For the first few days of the 2020 quarantine, I was at a bit of a loss. Even though my husband and I are both retired, life had been so busy for the first two and a half months; a new grandson, two January birthdays to celebrate, babysitting grandchildren, Drs. appointments, an elderly mother who needed help, meetings, church obligations and we had just finished celebrating three March birthdays and then BAM! NOTHING! No grandchildren coming over, no sons or daughter-in-laws dropping in, no coffee dates with friends, no appointments and no going to church!

However, after the intial shock, my husband and I breathed a collective sigh and began to enjoy some time to relax and recoup, and relax and rest and relax and relax and…….

It got to the point where most days I was staying in my pajamas and fluffy, pink housecoat. All. Day. Long. Senorita!! One day blended into the next, breakfast blended into lunch into supper into snacks, into “Oh my gosh, I can barely get my jeans on!”

Now I am an introvert and enjoy being home and I admit to having a heart idol of comfort and leisure that I am constantly battling, so for the first two weeks it was great, other than for the missing of my family.

Slowly though, I was beginning to become very restless in my soul. I had caught up on my rest, my husband and I had caught up on time together (oh boy, had we!), we had caught up on playing games, television shows borrowed from the library, Netflix shows and so on. We were staying up later and sleeping in longer, something this night owl had always dreamed of!!

Yet, as the saying goes, “too much of a good thing isn’t always good”, or as my friend Donna says, “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.”

I was restless, felt purposeless, wasn’t sleeping well because I was waking up with these feelings and thoughts racing through my mind and felt myself beginning to become depressed.

One day I decided it was enough! I told my husband, “We have to get ourselves on a schedule!” So together we organized a plan, I set an alarm to wake us at 7:30 a.m. Monday to Friday and determined to get dressed every day.

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The first couple of days were tough and “COFFEE!!” became our first cry of the morning as we slowly stumbled out to the kitchen. Gradually though, it became our routine. I got my laundry room cleaned out and organized, my office desk cleaned off and tidied, the tub of photos and photo albums reduced, we began to go for walks outside when weather permitted but most importantly I was having more time again to spend alone with my Lord and reading His Word.

I felt more productive, more energized and alive! You see even before the pandemic, I had slipped into the mindset that work was done and I should just eat, drink and be merry. Not that I really got to; our lives were busy with the above mentioned things but that’s what was in the back of my mind. Life should be one big party now. Of course when it wasn’t, I was irritable. This forced isolation has been difficult in many ways but I am grateful God has used it to teach me again that His way is best.

Ecclesiastes 5:18 “Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labour under the sun during the few days of life God has given him-for this is his lot.”

Colossians3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Now this is not to say that there isn’t a time and place for rest and relaxation; there is, because the Lord showed us this by resting himself on the seventh day, after he did amazing things for six. Rest is to be our reward for a job well done and fulfilling the purpose of our lives for the glory of God.

1 Thess. 4:11 “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”

Be well!

Patricia