Have you been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately?   I have.  I’m having a tough time wrapping my mind around the idea that something this crazy and monumental can still happen in the 21st century.  The world has halted, sports and other events have been put on hold, school is taught at home… and I’m not nearly as busy as my normal everyday routine.  We’re living something movie-worthy here.  It’s something our kidlets will share about with their grandkids someday.  I guess that in itself is a pretty overwhelming thought!

Matthew 28:11 says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Thankfully, we can trust God to carry it ALL during every moment of our lives.  Even these especially crazy, overwhelming times.  So, I’ve decided I’m going to start trying to live in the moment… because honestly, that’s all we have right now.

I was looking at my calendar the other day. I was having to delete appointments and events off of it.  It was a surreal task to see that the foreseeable future with no end date in sight… there is nothing there!  Otter girl’s soccer season was supposed to have begun last weekend. Vacation and summer camps and other activities remain in limbo for the meantime.  We’re definitely living in the moment now.

Do you realize what a blessing this actually is?  We’ve been given the gift of time.  Precious, precious time to spend with our quickly growing kiddos.  No rushing to this activity and that class, no more sports or appointments or distractions.  How are you using this gift?

I’ve been eyeing our little garden bed… we got a new puppy last fall, so he’s made a mess of the backyard with chewed sticks and shredded toys and things.  It will be interesting to see how to keep a puppy out of the garden this year, but I’d like to try.  The kids won’t have their 4-H gardening class, so we’ll get to plant all that yummy goodness ourselves this year.

Easter may look a bit different this year! Our family usually makes Resurrection Rolls, but our local stores are out of the refrigerated croissant dough.  I may have to find a recipe to make it from scratch.  We were able to get some fresh chicken eggs from a family member and we are looking forward to dying them.  Some of them are brown. Does anyone know if brown eggs will still dye well?  Guess we get to try a fun experiment.

I’ve seen lots of other awesome ideas online: stained glass painted windows, and sidewalk chalk murals, and bouquets of home-picked flowers… all beautiful ways to keep the beauty of Easter alive while staying safely at home.

I know a lot of us are feeling frustration for being thrust into this unexpected situation that impacts literally every aspect of our lives.  Let’s do our best to focus on the positive, to remember that we can trust in Him, and to take ahold of this amazing extra time to make a difference for our kiddos.

What is your family doing during this time to make rememberies?