The lessons that I’ve learned during a global pandemic.

No one asked for this pandemic. We were innocent victims of something that we could not control and, I, for one, hope not to have to deal with again in this lifetime! However, there are some things that I did learn during this time. Here are some of those lessons……

Lesson 1: All of you are my neighbors. I love my family and my friends, but I also am tasked with loving others and treating them with respect. It has nothing to do with rather or not we agree politically or if we have different values or not. It especially has nothing to do with your race or your religion (or if you don’t have any). No, this has to do with who you are and who I am in God’s eyes. God tells us to treat others the way we want to be treated ourselves. Unfortunately, too many people have forgotten that very basic of courtesies. We don’t have to agree on everything and, in fact, we can agree to disagree, but we need to do it in a respectful manner. (Related post: Black and white and all the beautiful shades of gray in-between). So, yes, I will love you just like I love my family because that is what you are to me, even when we disagree.

Lesson 2: I value honesty and transparency! We need this in the leaders of our country and in the media as well. I might not like what that leader has to say but I like it when that leader attempts to do what is best for the people that they serve. When that leader, instead, fails to accept or even admit their own failings, then I am seeing that they are choosing not to be honest with us. Also, when the media becomes a mouthpiece for certain groups and chooses not to acknowledge a leaders failings then they are just as complicit as well. I’d rather them (the leaders and media) tell me what I need to hear versus what they think that I want to hear. If they don’t have the gumption to be honest, then they don’t deserve my trust! There are other leaders and media groups who have proven that they value us simple folks, so I will go there instead. (Related post: Our actions define the person that we are, not only our words.)

Lesson 3: I admire the human spirit. Life is tough. It can knock you down so many times that you may feel that you just want to give up. I admire the human spirit that allows us to continue to forge ahead in those tough times and then we know that we will become so much stronger because of it. We are resilient and although we may see this as a temporary setback, we may feel that better things are yet to come from it. The human race will prosper because that is how we are made. (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace)

Lesson 4: Our God has given me (and all of us) the tools that I need to persevere in this life. He gives me a heart that loves, a brain that thinks and ponders, hands that can help, arms that will hold, eyes that see, ears that hear and a mouth that speaks. I am tasked with using each of these tools wisely so that I may help and not hurt others. I must never take these tools for granted or allow them to become dull or to be taken over for evil purposes. I must practice what I preach. When I go before God at the end of my life, I want to be able to say, “God, look at what I have been able to do with the tools that you’ve given me!” I am forever humbled and grateful for these gifts and pledge to use them as wisely as I possibly can. (Related post: Why in the world should I be thankful?)

What did I learn from this? There is a purpose for my life. It’s not my purpose, it’s God’s purpose. I don’t always know where God will lead me but He just asks that I trust Him. He knows that I am stronger than I believe that I could ever could be all because of His love for me. The trials that I go through are meant to make me stronger and better. It also allows me to see Him in everything. I find my own joy in getting through all of the trials and tribulations that life has to offer with God ever present with me.

What can you gain from this? Think about the lessons that you may have learned since going through this pandemic. I will just bet that you will have things to add to the list above! But most of all, be grateful for the life that you have and make the very most of it in the time that you have here on earth. Life is too short to be wasted on anger or regrets. Just remember, you get out of life what you put into it. So make a conscious decision to be a better version of yourself!