Six years
ago, we were in the first few days of a “two week shutdown” for this strange
new pandemic that settled over our world.
Oh my. How life has changed
since that day!
Six years ago…
Ryan and I were living in Kokomo, and I was on staff at our
church there. My job description was, well, still being developed, but one of my
roles included overseeing the women’s ministry. I had been trying to ramp it up
when everything fell apart. I worked from home, trying to figure out how to
create relationship and cohesion online.
Ryan was beginning a temporary assignment at the hospital in
town, since his rehab hospital was forced to shut down.
We never would have known (on that day) that a few years
later, we would live in a different town, attend a different church, work different
jobs…and have a dog!
But I digress…
What I wanted to share today was something that popped up in
my Facebook memories this week. I tried to encourage some of the young moms in
our church – moms who suddenly found themselves home full time with kids.
“Our women’s ministry is moving its main hub to Facebook for
the foreseeable future. We are going to try to help keep women connected,
encouraged, and in the Word while we are separated physically for the time
being. Today’s post is for moms and those helping with child care right now. If
that’s you, we hope this helps!”
And then… “Did you know we have a moms group here?
(Well...normally, of course. It's on a little break from in-person meetings.) One
of our young moms leads this group every Wednesday morning from 10-noon, and it
is a great place for moms to connect and encourage each other! And best of all
- this group is for moms of ALL ages with kids of all ages! Chelsea has some
exciting new things planned for this group down the road a bit, and we'll tell
you more about them (and how you can join in) when the time comes.
Meanwhile, we know that many of you with school-aged kids are
home with them full time right now, and maybe others of you are helping out
moms by providing child care while they go to work. Anyone need some fresh
ideas of how to occupy time and sneak in some teaching while you're at it?
Jessica Turner at The Mom Creative has compiled a list of free resources that
might help! It includes art lessons, science experiments, math help, and even
story time for those of you missing the chance to be part of library programs
right now.
We hope some of these resources help you as you navigate new
parenting techniques right now! And for those of you who may not have kids at
home right now, will you join us in praying for the moms of our church? Pray
for strength, wisdom, creativity, and the clarity to see beauty in this season.
And while prayer is powerful and effective, so is acknowledgement. After you
pray for a mom, will you text or call her to let her know you thought of her
and prayed? Ask her how she's doing - and really listen to the answer. If you
see a practical way to help (that you can safely do in this time), do that!
Moms have tough, important, Kingdom-impacting jobs every
single day. Let's tend to them a little extra right now!”
The link I shared isn’t active anymore, but the rest of the
words hold true. And we don’t have to be in the beginning days of a pandemic to
pray for moms and the Kingdom-shaping work they do. How about we bring back the
spirit of this six-year-old post?
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