It Looks Different

 Let's go back in time for a minute. The year is 2020. Hearing that alone may bring up lots of different emotions. More specifically, think back to March 2020. I remember that month very clearly because I was teaching the Reading program at the middle school I'm at. I remember taking my students outside to enjoy a beautiful, sunny March day 🌞. I remember going to a staff meeting the next day that said school and work was going to look a lot different quickly, but the details were uncertain. I also remember my brother and I going to see the movie "I Still Believe" on a Sunday afternoon at a local movie theater. I remember seeing one of my Reading students and his dad at the movie the same day.  I remember my brother and I talking about how we enjoyed the movie 😊. We also discussed how we could relate to loss that was in the movie as we had just lost our Mom two months before in January. The very next day, that same movie theater we went to shut down ( unfortunately, it hasn't opened back up since), along with other places because our world experienced the Covid pandemic that stayed longer than we expected. Our world really saw different then!!! Businesses shut down or had to serve customers differently. Schools and colleges looked different and moved to virtual or paper packets (my school did the latter). Work looked different as many started working from home or had limited hours. That's when Zoom and other digital platforms became our best friend. Online shopping increased dramatically. In store shopping looked different as you had to stand a certain feet apart while waiting in line and could only purchase a certain number of certain items (I'm sure one item in particular comes to mind!!). Family and friend gatherings, weddings, funerals, and graduation and birthday celebrations looked a lot different. Church services looked different as many did virtual, parking lot services, or a combination of the two. My church did parking lot services, which was definitely different, but I'm glad I could still see my church family, hear the praise and worship music, and hear the Word 💚. Physically, we all looked different because we wore masks. Our social life and life in general looked a lot different. Now, if you haven't already stopped to tell God thank you for bringing you that time, this would be a good place to do that. God kept us through all of that!! Everyone didn't make it through that time, but God allowed us to and we should be grateful. I know I'm grateful to God for getting me through that season because it was not easy, but I endured! We may not be experiencing the pandemic like we did in 2020, but we all have things/situations in life that look different. For some, it may have been a loss of something or someone. In January 2020, my brother and I lost our Momma. We were already working on navigating life looking differently when the pandemic hit. Five years later, life still looks different because we're still experiencing "firsts" without her and miss her a lot. A lot of things remind me of Momma. When I have my movie days at home, there are still days I wish she could be sitting right beside me, so we can laugh and talk about the movie and life in general. There are so many stories I wish I could share with her. Even though it's different without her, I'm grateful for God standing beside me through it all💜. Friendships, dating relationships, and associations can look different and that's okay because some people are meant to be in our lives for a season or on a certain level. That doesn't make anyone less than anyone else. God knows who you need to speak life into you in this season and the support you need. As Christians, we should look different in how we carry ourselves, treat people, think, talk, and take care of ourselves. In order to look different, our routines will have to look different. We have to make sure we spend time with God and in His Word. We have to make sure we invest in our health and peace 😊. It will look different for everyone and that's okay. The pandemic taught us at least two things: Face to face interaction with other people is important, and Don't take anything or anyone for granted. I've learned that different can be good if it's helpful. Different can be good if it's adding to us and not depleting from us. Whenever you don't think you can make it through a difficult time in your life, look back at how God allowed you to make it through the pandemic or another difficult season in your life. Different is definitely not always easy, but different isn't new to us. It's how we handle the different that counts. Different isn't always bad. Check out the situation carefully. Use wisdom and act accordingly. Take care of you. Let's think of different as being daring and determined to do the best, see the best, and be the best. Different, daring and determined sounds like a winning formula to me 💜😉!! I love you all and God bless!!