If you’re like me, you have a lot of things you would love to do. Things you’d happily prioritize if other, more pressing matters stepped out of the way. Or, conversely, if you had more time.
Guess what?
Suddenly, you have time.
Maybe you’re working from home, so all you’ve gained are those minutes each day that would have been spent on your commute. Maybe all the kids’ activities have been axed, so you’ve been handed a few additional hours a week. Maybe you are taking this social distancing thing seriously and banning all playdates, meaning it’s just you and your kiddos for the foreseeable future. In any case, there’s one thing coronavirus has given us in exchange for the status quo that was daily life in America just a week ago: time.
The pace of everything has ground nearly to a halt in most places, leaving many of us with large swaths of nothing on our schedules. The temptation, when faced with a few precious moments unfettered by the things we must do, is to reward ourselves with inactivity. A little time checked out in front of Netflix, an hour scrolling facebook, some mindless gaming. You deserve this break, right?
Right now, most of us have time. Time with our loved ones. Time to slow down. Time to step back and do those things we always said we wanted to get around to. Time has been literally dropped into our laps… and I fear we will let it slip through our fingers as we scrabble vainly to keep our finger on the pulse of a news cycle that does not sleep and borrow worry and panic over circumstances which we cannot control.
Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.— Marcus Aurelius
Listen, I know the disruptions of this week are burdensome. I know we’re all wondering what happens next, and how we’re going to pay the mortgage if this thing doesn’t burn itself out in the next two weeks. I know our kids are stretched thin with the new norm, and we don’t know quite how to navigate a world where loving your neighbor now looks like dropping a package of toilet paper on their front porch rather than inviting them in for a cup of coffee.
But here’s the thing: we have time. Time!
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. —Ephesians 5:15-16
I believe God has a purpose for this moment in each of our homes. I believe He is pleased to lead you and your family into a space where you are going to learn, and grow, and experience an unprecedented springtime in your spiritual life. All you have to do is seek Him.
Like many of you, I’ve been curating a lovely, long list of free resources that will fill some of the spare moments we find ourselves with now that we’re homebound. From Scholastic’s cool new Learn-At-Home site, to EdHelper’s free daily workbooks, to Beast Academy’s free puzzle books, to drawing with Mo Willem’s at lunch, and free challenges by Mystery Science, I’m on top of adding fun things to help my kids feel that this is a time when things are actually not just different, but enjoyable and different. But these resources aren’t what I want to take front and center for our time together. They’re fun… but they just fill the hours. Not redeem them!
For that, I’m turning to God’s Word. We’ve always had family worship, always memorized Scripture, always prayed corporately throughout our day. But here are some of the ways I’m now finding myself able to plant seeds of hope and truth in those who dwell in my household thanks to the gift of some added time:
- I’m about to finish my third tour of the YouVersion Bible in 90 Days plan. Yes, you really can read the entire Bible in 90 days. All it takes is—wait for it— time. During this window, I’ve decided to take all of the readings to audio, and allow them to play while we do quiet work gathered around the table or in the living room. If I finish before the restrictions are lifted, I’m going to circle back to the beginning and do the same. Imagine if my family was able to hear the entire Bible in a year! I never thought I’d have time for that, never even dreamed it. But maybe God is giving us that chance!
- Seeds Family Worship began a “Twenty Verses in 2020” campaign that I was excited about, but wasn’t able to fit into schooling with the younger kids. Guess what excuse I no longer have? Yep. Turns out, I’ve got time.
- Because music is one way our family loves to worship, I’m encouraging my children to learn more songs they can play together. We’ve already had more opportunities in the last few days to praise God in song together than we’ve had in the past two months! I am truly excited to do this even more regularly, and to be purposeful in making it a special, set-aside time that makes memories. Last night, we gathered around the fire pit and sang. It was, hands down, the most peaceful evening I’ve spent since the recent crisis began to unfold.
- My kids love coloring pages. They often request that I print historical characters, or landmarks from countries we’re studying. During this time, I’ve added some Scripture coloring sheets I found via google, and have encouraged them to tuck them into “secret” spots around our home, like inside cabinet doors. They’ve definitely risen to the challenge!
- We’ll be adding more of the Kids of Courage resources to our homeschool rotation. During the school year, I often find that I can’t really pause long enough to finish a “Bold Believers” workbook. (I link these studies to our geography lessons.) Now I can backtrack a little and dig in deeper.
These are small things, I know. Nothing earth-shattering, nothing seismic. But they are purposeful. They are intentional ways of building the foundation of faith that I want to underscore everything my children take with them from our home and into adulthood. I want to look back on this season as “set apart” not just for the physical distance we’ve been forced to keep from others, but for the spiritual closeness it has given us with the Lord. I think that would be the ultimate redemption of our days.
Time goes, you say? Ah, no! alas, time stays, we go.—Henry Austin Dobson