Looking past Covid-19
During the few months before the hysteria, I thought about how fast life passes. Every day, I felt like I spent more time driving, more time working, less time sleeping and not enough time enjoying the moments that really matter.
Then COVID-19 changed the course of this chapter of my life for the better.
I have been extremely thankful for the transition from busy school life back to the serenity of home. As a commuter, this wasn’t a hard transition. Before social distancing, I was already spending a good amount of time at home, but I was not able to share much of it with my family.
Quarantine has reminded me of the relationship I had with my sister growing up. We were completely inseparable. Being together while isolating has really brought us closer again, gifting us more laughs and genuine moments than we have had in ages. Our two new favorite activities are bothering our dog and having ice cream for dinner. Somehow these have become the source of a lot of new inside jokes.
This lightheartedness has also led us to reconnect. We have shared profound conversations and supported each other with school and life.
Even though my sister and I have always been very close, we are both going through different stages in our lives. She is heading out for college soon while I continue to dive deeper into school and my future career. Unfortunately, we can’t always be there for each other because of our schedules. But for now, having this time to be present both physically and emotionally has made these milestones that much more meaningful.
We also felt like we were called to take more time to learn about Jesus and build a stronger relationship with Him. We have allotted a time during the day just for Him, a time where we can hand Him all of our struggles and let go of our worries. This has become something that I personally have really enjoyed making time for.
It is moments like these that we will look back on and realize how truly blessed we were to have shared together before parting ways. Although these times may be filled with uncertainty and anguish, everyone should make the most of this time in quarantine and ask themselves what the silver linings are.
For me, it was reconnecting with my sister. For others, it may be an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with parents, or a chance to be a better neighbor to someone else.
This should no longer be about social distancing because of a virus, but rather how we can see this as an opportunity for personal and spiritual growth away from our materialistic world. Strengthening our relationship with Christ away from church can also help us appreciate the power of coming together as a community and as a part of the body of Christ.
This is a time in which we must temporarily adapt to new lifestyles. This is where we learn that in a time of hardship, it is not the places you go to or the things you do that matter the most. At the end of the day, you are only left with things that are not palpable: conversations, laughter, quality time, connection, love, unity, health and faith.