Disclaimer: What follows is me trying my best to be honest about something that is very hard to get my head around. There are no good, perfect answers for any of it, but I just needed to write. Thanks for reading.

Life passes at a dizzying pace. The days, weeks, months, and almost a year now of waiting for COVID19 and its accompanying lockdowns and restrictions to be over. Waiting for life to go back to normal. Waiting not to worry, to eat inside without fear, to get on the airplane without a mask and multiple testing, to go to a concert, to hug people at will.

The past week or two, I have kind of hit some sort of wall. The “I’ve had it with this crap” wall, to put it very bluntly. There needs to be joy, there needs to be life, there needs to be hope.

I am so thankful that Jesus Christ is my Savior, because He gives me a hope and a future that no government, no leader, no disease can take away. I can guarantee you there will be no masks and plenty of hugging in heaven. 🙂

But right now, right here on this earth…..Jesus has left me and you here for a reason. To smile, to laugh, to share joy with others who are losing hope fast. I look around me and I am seeing a loss of hope in many eyes….even my own at times. There needs to be a balance to all this crazy caution and protection….we still need to look for and find and seek joy in this life. To maintain and nurture the human relationships and interactions that actually make us human. I am not against masks and disease protection…I have asthma and have to be careful. But there has to be balance, and my fear has to be countered by my faith.

And this seizing of joy goes way beyond COVID19 and mask-wearing. It extends to every aspect of this life. The sad aspect of all these lockdowns is that we are forgetting how to be joyful, to laugh, to touch, to connect person-to-person.

So, what is the answer to all this? The only thing I have found, other than my faith and praying under my breath almost all day, is CARPE DIEM. “Seize the day.” Live in the immediate moment. Look people straight in the eyes, smile at them with your eyes. Don’t think so much. Don’t try to fix unfixable problems. Just look out the window. Feel the sun on my face. Or the strong wind lift my hair. Or hug my husband or my child or my doggie. Read an amazing book, and not one that makes me nervous or scared. Watch movies/shows that celebrate traditional family values, make me laugh, make me realize that life here is a gift from God, it is good. Do something, anything, that makes you feel creative, makes you feel alive, brings you joy.

Carpe Diem. Seize the day. We cannot get it back. This day, this life. And seriously, if you have faith in God, in His Son Jesus Christ, who is the author of hope….share it. So many people need hope right now.

Stepping off the soapbox now…..thanks for listening, my sweet readers. Love, Lisa