The past few weeks have been pretty quiet around here because of the quarantine. Along with most of you, I’m learning to live with the major disruption to my life and routine because of the coronavirus.

When this all started, I think we all expected it to be kind of like the other virus fears we’ve experienced, like SARS, or H1N1 from a few years ago. No one could have foreseen the complete devastation that would result from this new virus, and the disruptions to our lives.

This thing has caused several major changes in our culture and our world, from food and toilet paper shortages, to economic problems and unemployment on a national and global level. And it has had an impact on a personal level for us all, too. We’ve learned a new reality: social distancing… Quarantine…

From where I sit in the middle of America, we are moving into our fourth week of this. And we have a couple of weeks yet to go, at the very least. That could extend pretty easily if this virus doesn’t slow down.

My emotions have been a roller coaster. One minute, I’m confident that this will be over soon, and we can get back to normal — maybe a new normal, but still normal. The next minute, I feel like cowering under my desk, in abject fear that this is the worst thing that could ever happen. And my perspective shifts like this multiple times a day, it seems.

Yet through it all, I have learned a few things. And these are things that I have to hold on to tightly, so that I don’t completely lose my perspective on this whole thing.

I’ve learned that the way we do church has had to change

We have had to change the way we “do” church. We cannot meet together for worship. And that include Easter Sunday this year. That is very discouraging to me. But that does not change the fact that we are called to “be” the church. How we “do” church might change for a while, but we are still called to share the light and love of Christ with all of those around us, maybe from behind our masks for a while, and maybe from a distance of six feet for a few more weeks.

As for “doing” church, in our case, we have shifted the bulk of our services to an online presence. We post our messages to YouTube and share them via social media. And after looking at the numbers for the past few weeks, it appears that more people have heard the message of the Bible that way than we would have had inside our building. That’s pretty encouraging to me, even though it has been a new learning curve to get it all figured out.

I’ve learned just how social I really am

I claim to be an introvert. And mostly, I am. But I’m also a very social person. It’s weird, I know. But I have experienced the loss of some very close friendship activity over the last few weeks. The friendships are still there, and we stay in contact, but it’s just not the same. I’m learning (maybe relearning) that God has created us to be in relationships with one another, and that we need one another. Social distancing stinks.

I’ve learned that such an influx of family time can be good

Sure, there are moments where we all get on each other’s nerves. But that happens even when we don’t have quarantine restrictions in place. The time together as a family has been a very beneficial time for us. I’ve seen my kids under stress, and yet still act like Christ to one another. And I’ve seen my kids in fear, just as much as I have been, and probably more. This is a very new thing to them, and they have had no experience in their short lives to prepare them in any way for something like this pandemic and the quarantine we have to maintain. That has opened up opportunities to teach my family about the fact that Jesus still is in control, to teach them to trust him even in this.

I’ve learned that I don’t deal with stress all that well

Ok, I knew that already. But this whole situation has pushed me to the edge more than once. And when I get close to that edge, I have a tendency to snap at others. So maybe, what I’m learning is how to control that better, and turn it over to Christ for help to overcome.

I’ve learned, once again, that Jesus is in control

That is a lesson that I have to learn over and over and over. It seems as if I keep trying to control things in my life that I can’t, and that frustrates me. But as I learn once again that He is God and I’m not, I can relinquish my grip on this and allow him to lead me through.

I’m certain that there will be more lessons learned before this is all over. But for now, I suspect that’s more than enough to keep me busy for a few more days of quarantine. My prayer is that I don’t forget these lessons when I get back to “normal.” I hope to use this entire quarantine situation as a wake up call for my life, and for my family, so that we keep our eyes on the goal, which is in Christ Jesus.

Question: How has the COVID-19 quarantine affected your life? What lessons are you learning? You can leave a comment by clicking here.