Isolation and Inspiration

These are interesting times we live in. The worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 has changed us all. In some ways, life has come to a halt, and in other ways, life is very much the same around here, for now. 

I know that circumstances could change for any of us, at any moment. I know how uncertain life is, and how quickly it can shift in the blink of an eye. My husband died in front of me, unexpectedly. One moment there; one moment gone. I know death. I know the stark reality of what people are afraid of right now, worrying about sickness and losing their loved ones. It is real, suffering and death happens, even to good, prepared, people.  

I have also lived through times of having zero money in the bank account, going without a vehicle, and living in very small living spaces with all of my children. We have lived off of our food storage many times in the past. I spent four years living in Alaska in an apartment building, as a new mom, with my only view being the broken fence leaning into the backyard. Without a car, and without quality Internet, I had no where I could go during the day; I learned what isolation really meant, during the cold, dark, Alaskan winters. I know isolation really well. It feels strangely like an old friend to me. I had to learn how to be at peace with isolation then; and now, well, it is not an unwelcome guest, as it forces us to slow everything down. 

These are unique times. There is no telling what is to come in the near future with this worldwide event. The economic repercussions could be very challenging in the times to come. I am hopeful, for the most part. I sometimes rely on past experiences for strength and reassurance for the future; however, I have never lived without toilet paper before... that could be a big bummer. 

I read somewhere recently, that we are only in the first mile of a "marathon." I have run and finished a marathon, and that first mile is an exciting and somewhat easy one. It was around mile 14 that almost did me in. In fact, I recall wanting to just sit down and die at that point. But in looking back, that is because I did not pace myself, as I should have throughout the marathon. I ran too fast in the beginning, and burnt out in the middle; not a good plan to make it to the end. 

I believe that pacing ourselves through this pandemic and isolation process, will be very important.

We need to pace ourselves to survive for the long run. 

We need to be kind to ourselves, take good care of ourselves, our families, and loved ones, and not stress about the things we do not have any control over, and things that are not important. 

"Worrying means you suffer twice." - J.K. Rowling

Look at what happens at the end of the day, when everything shuts down, what do we have? 

Our home and our families. 

Let's take this time to love the heck out of our families, slow down a lot, and we will finish this "pandemic marathon," eventually. The finish line may not be anywhere in sight right now at mile one; but it is out there in the future, if we do our part now to help, by staying home with our families. 

As I began writing this post, the Governor of Idaho announced we are now under a "Stay Home" order. This means all non-essential businesses will be closed, and we need to hunker down in our homes for at least the 21 day period, currently set in place. Schools have already been out for over a week. And now, it is time to nestle in even further at home, away from the community, in an attempt to prevent unnecessary exposure, and the spreading of sickness and death. 

In our home this is particularly interesting. We are at home full-time with me, my four children, and David, who is very fortunately able to work from home. Luckily, David invested in some noise-canceling headphones, so he can work easily from home, while my kids do life at whatever level of loud, that occurs naturally around here. He bought them, right before he knew he would need them. Trust me, they are a necessity for him here! 

We are also VERY grateful to have our converted garage room, where the kids can go and be creative, relax, and enjoy life during this strange time of isolation. It was certainly an inspired decision to create that space, during our first few months of marriage. We felt very motivated to make it happen. It has been more than a blessing for us, at this time. 

Another inspired decision came to me a few weeks ago. I had a stroke of "revelation," where an idea came to me that I should rearrange the rooms in our home. I wanted to move Sammi's room further down the hall, while the three boys room would be in a larger living room area downstairs, that is closed off, and also has a bathroom. And Sammi's old room next door to our room, would become an office, because David would work from home sometimes, and he had his computer station in our bedroom, which was "fun." 

The change required a lot of work and effort, but I felt so strongly about it, I knew it must be done. When I announced it to the children, they were all for it. David, however, was a little uncertain with my idea, because he is not as used to living in a home where things are so often moved around. (I have always loved trying new home arrangements, to see how they work.) But, somehow, my "idea" felt urgent enough, that I decided it just needed to be done. I did not even know exactly why, I just felt certain -- very certain -- so we moved forward with the big home rearranging change. 

Fast forward just a few weeks, from rearranging the house, to now, being homebound. I can tell you that the rearrangement of the rooms was 100% INSPIRED! With David working from home all of the time now, it makes life not only bearable, but pleasant, as we live through these unprecedented times of "Stay Home" orders, and social distancing. It seemed a strange quiet but "loud" prompting at the time, to change the house around, and I am so grateful for heeding the stroke of inspiration as it came. 

Another "small and simple" revelation had to do with toilet paper. Who knew that toilet paper would disappear as it has? Well, awhile ago, I felt inspired to just start buying and extra pack each time I would go shopping for groceries. I did not know at the time that it would be ALL GONE eventually in the near future. I am so grateful to have listened to that small prompting, that was not so small after all. 

We also bought an extra freezer recently, because we were very low on freezer space and ways to store food. It has brought a lot of peace of mind to have extra food on hand to feed our family, during these very strange times. I am grateful we can still go to the grocery store, but I am trying to go so much less often, and having an extra freezer has made that possible. Keeping my family fed is no small feat! 

I have been seeking out daily inspiration and revelation. I take time, each day, and I retreat to my room, alone, and I pray and ponder about what to do, and what not to do. Sometimes I walk out of my room with a firm idea of something that should be done, and other times it might take awhile to make a decision about something. But by taking the time to slowdown to, "Hear Him," ("Him" being our Heavenly Father), then I feel more confident in the choices that I make. 

The more I take time to deliberately listen, the more confidence I am gaining in my connection with Heaven. Right now, in the world we live in, I absolutely need that confidence as I go about forging the way into the future. Our family dynamic is also interesting as we try and figure out what is best for all of us, including David's children, during this time of social distancing. What crazy decisions we have to make sometimes, it is mind-boggling, to say the least. We would not make it without Heaven's help. 

These are strange times we live in, my friends. I have all the hope and confidence in my Heavenly Father, and His ability to guide our family through these times, in the way He sees fit. 

One thing I have learned, as a widow, is that trials are there to teach us, and make us better, if we are willing to be taught. This time of uncertainty that has driven us back home, to our families, is a time of great education and learning. It is a time to flourish and grow in spiritual strength and power; we are not meant to diminish and shrink in the face of our challenges. These times are hard, and yes, I have times of intense confusion and worry about everything that is going on in our world right now; but I also have tremendous hope for better days ahead. My hope is firmly planted in Jesus. He is my guide now, and always has been throughout my life. He has never left me alone, and I trust that He will always be with me, no matter what happens. 

Isolation is a beautiful time to receive inspiration. 

May God be with us! 

Here are some pictures from the last little while... 

We have been spending more time in nature as Spring is coming and social distancing has become the new normal. 

It is so beautiful in our area, and I am so grateful!

Here we have the boys room... in the old living room. Now they actually have room to walk.

I took this picture of a plant outside, and just adjusted the color setting on my phone, and it looked other-worldy! So cool!

I have a rainbow maker in our room, and there are often rainbows dancing around while I am in there seeking inspiration.

Here is my rainbow maker. :)

Nature is SO cool!

Life blossoms in the dirt.

Sammi likes to come and bathe in the rainbows with me.

The toilet paper aisle...

This was before the playground equipment was off-limits. Playgrounds are now taped-off.

This is my guide in these strange times.

Meeting in the Church buildings has changed to "Home-Centered Church." How inspired was the Prophet, to bring about Come Follow Me for home learning, before this huge event that would send us all home, was even on the radar? We have had a few beautiful Church meetings in our home. It is so wonderful to have the sacrament administered to us by the boys. What a blessing!

Sammi teaches Henry primary lessons. She was just called as a primary teacher... little did she know it would be so she could teach her own brother, in the home. :)

Here is Henry drawing himself, with Jesus.

We have spent so much time outside as a family.

Spending more time together has been pretty wonderful. I can see my children becoming so much more relaxed and refreshed, by having this break from all the stressors of school.

We all played four square together. It was really fun!

We have had some lovely Spring weather.

Love my girl. She is so fun!

David and I have been going for lots of walks, so we can get out of the house together, alone. Talking is always better when walking.

There are some wonderful isolated places to walk around here.

We have seen some glorious things while out and about.

Nature is healing.

This was a things when I went to the store recently.

It is starting to smell all floral and yummy outside.

We have been going up the hill to get fresh perspective on the world.

Oh the paths that life takes us on... I know my life path looks NOTHING like I could have imagined!

Banana bread... it is just so pretty.

At the end of the day... life will go on. Even if you die... you will still live another day, just somewhere else. ;)

I am glad to have this guy with me on this unusual journey.

Sammi is learning her States again. ;)

Life is everywhere!

We have been playing loads of games and laughing together.

More outside time...

We sat by the river and had a quiet moment of reflection together. One of these days, I will write a post about the crazy things we have been through in our first year of marriage... crazy stuff, I tell you.

I love Jesus.

We went hiking as a family.

Being outside is saving us all.

There are some cool places to explore around here.

Freedom!

Climb every mountain.

If only you could smell through the blog...

My entire family gathered for a simple Church meeting on Sunday. My parents, my two brothers, two sisters, and my nieces joined in, too. We each gave a 3 minute talk/thought and then we each sang a song. I love my family.

The temples are closed. This is probably one of the hardest things for me, as it is my place to recharge and receive power from Heaven. I have had to replace my temple worship with my time seeking personal revelation in my own room. Oh how I love the temple! I look forward to going again one day. We were able to still walk around the grounds of the Meridian temple. It was extraordinarily beautiful at sunset.

Perhaps the Empty Temples can remind us of the Empty Tomb at this time.

We had a pretty good storm the other day.

We all gathered in Sammi's room, because she had the best view.

Sammi is having a bit of a struggle, because she cannot see her boyfriend during this time. It is hard on kids this age, who have been parted from dating each other. It is all for good though. (She is sitting on her heater vent to get warm here.)

I hope that I can receive the inspiration that is needed at this time of isolation. I pray for guidance each day, and I water my pillow at night for those who are suffering because of the troubles and trials that our before us. I trust in my God to guide the way. He is aware of ALL things. He loves us! All of this -- the good, the bad, the happy, the sad -- it is all leading us back to Him and our Heavenly Home.

God be with you on the journey.

Remember to PACE yourself and your family, this is a marathon, not a sprint!