Posts Tagged: relationships
Each Person Matters
Total cases: 492,416
Total deaths: 18,559
(According to CDC, on 4/11/2020)
This week the statistic of the COVID-19 pandemic hit me in a new way. Prior to this week, they were just a statistic and sad to say they were not much more than that. I look at this number of deaths this is 18,559 people who have died since January 21, 2020(that is only 81 days). There is a person with a name, a family and a life behind each number. A person is a person no matter who they were or what they did. They are still a person that God created to be on this earth for a time. People matter to God so they should matter to us.
There are people who will argue that this statistic is inflated or incorrect, that some of those people died of something else but tested positive for COVID-19 or let us not forget the numerous conspiracy theories that are out there surrounding COVID-19. Can we stop arguing?!? The fact is that 18,559 people have died in the United States in 81 days! This number does not include the people who have died that are not related to COVID-19.
Let that sink in for a little. 18,559 people have died in 81 days in the US.
How does this not bother us? How does this not sadden us? How is this not like a sucker punch to our gut when we hear it?
Can we put aside all politics, conspiracy theories, etc? And mourn with the people who have lost loved ones?
Most likely these family and friends will not be able to say goodbye to their loved ones for a while due to the funeral being postponed. Meanwhile, they continue living life feeling and seeing the void their loved one left behind. Put yourself in their shoes. Think about how that would feel, how it would be hard to face each day and how they feel when they see us arguing about where COVID-19 came from or who is responsible for it. At this point, in my opinion when we are pointing the fingers to someone else we are forgetting what is important. Reality is that we are in a health pandemic worldwide with a highly contagious virus. And we all have a responsibility to respond wisely and do our part to help minimize the spread.
While I am on this soapbox, I am going to share something else that I have seen that sends me from zero to one hundred. Some Christians have claimed that this is religious persecution because we are not able to gather in our churches together to have church.
First, this is not religious persecution. Our governing authorities have put things in place to protect us. And we as Christians have a responsibility to follow what our authorities ask us to do. “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” Romans 13:1 The government authorities have not taken away our religious freedom at this time in the United States.
Second, the church is more than just a building. We(people) are the church, not a building. This pandemic has caused Christians to look at how we do church and why we do it this way. It has caused a pivot in churches. Most churches are holding services online. Most of my family is Old Order Mennonite and they have held church services in a building for many generations. They are now doing a hotline call where their congregation can call in and listen to the message. They do not have internet and/or TV so doing church online is not an option. This is a monumental change for this church! This would have not happened if they did not need to think creatively on how to provide a message for their congregations.
Can we put ourselves aside and think of others during this time? This will look different for each person.
It might mean that you stay home and practice social distancing.
It might mean that you wear a mask when you go grocery shopping.
It might mean that you find creative ways to connect with others. Such as phone calls, video calls, send snail mail, etc.
It might mean that your business pivots to be able to continue to serve your clients.
It might mean you work from home now.
It might mean that you no longer have the distractions that you had and you have no excuse not to do the thing you have been putting off.
It might mean that you support essential workers by staying home. As they are putting their life on the line to make sure people have what they need or the care they need.
The Hamster Wheel of Busyness
We have been fed this lie that being busy is a good thing. I think as a society we have become addicted to being busy. We think we have to be busy all the time. It is to the point when someone asks us “How are you doing?” A common response has been “busy.” When has this answer become ok. And in my opinion it is a masked answer for how we really are doing.
There are seasons where we will be busy and this is enviable. But when busy becomes part of our lifestyle is where we get it wrong. Because if we are always busy there is a time where you will burnout from always being so busy. You can only go so long before you will crash from being busy. You will not have time to do the things that fill you up. That help take care of you and your sanity. And we don’t have time for the relationships that are important for us.
Resting and not being caught in this hamster wheel of busyness is good for you as a whole especially emotionally. Being in the hamster wheel of busy there is an anxiety that comes with it because you have to always think about what is next. You miss the small blessings and miracles that are right in front of you in your day to day life. I can say this from personal experience. If I am not well emotionally, it throws the rest of my life off track and not seems to works well. If we are always busy, we are not taking the time to process what is going on with us and around us. I know when I do not take the time to process emotionally it is a recipe for disaster. Maybe not right away but eventually.
When we are always busy, things get missed because we can’t do everything well. When we try to so everything, we usually are operating outside of our gifts because we are trying to do everything.
The other thing about buying into the lie of having to always be busy, we rely on ourselves much more than we are suppose to. We don’t take the time to see if there is someone else in your life that would be better suited for the task than you. And we also tend not to take the time to seek and trust God. What if God doesn’t give you an answer before you need an answer? We tell ourselves it is easier to rely on ourselves and not on God or anyone else. We are created for community with God and others.
When God created the earth, He put a day of rest in for a reason. He knew that we need to rest so that we can be productive for the rest of the week. He even to took a day of rest when He created the earth.
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:2-3
So is your busyness for a season or is it a lifestyle? And is it a mask to cover up something else you don’t want to deal with?
7. Rest
At the beginning of this year, the words God gave me for this year was rest and trust. In January, I had no idea how that would how literally this would play out in my life this year. And honestly when God gave me these words I did not understand why He gave them to me.
Ten weeks ago when I quit my job, my plan was to take a week off (that was going to packed full of things) and then start a new job the next week. Key words here is MY PLAN. Not God’s plan. I did have a job offer but I turned it down for numerous reasons. So I ended my last job with no new job. During the week after I quit my job, God pressed it on my heart to take a significant amount of time off before I start something else and for me to go away by myself.
In the first month of not working, I had no desire to work any job. And it caught me by surprise that I did not want to work. Anyone that knows me personally knows working is something that I have always done and I see value in it. And it would give me anxiety when I do not have an ongoing income to pay bills and live on. But not having the desire to work showed me that I needed this time to rest. I needed time for my physical body, emotional being and my spiritual being to be able to rest and heal.
Six weeks after I quit my job, I went on vacation by myself for 12 days! Yes, you read that right, I went by myself to the Finger Lakes region in New York. During this time I was able to sight see, meet up with a total stranger to trade a photoshoot, I visited a new church twice, chased the sunset one night, try iced custard made out of duck eggs, sit at a local coffee shop and work on my business for a few days, read a couple books, go see a movie alone, reconnect with some family that was in the area, and most importantly I took the time to connect with God and listen to his voice. Where I was staying there was not internet or TV to distract me from hearing God’s voice. In these 12 days God spoke to me and I learned what it means to rest and just stop without rushing to the next thing.
I am grateful for this season of rest. I do not regret that I took time for this season. It was a season that I needed. In this season, God has provided for me in more than just finances. And He has given me clarity and direction as to where He has called me to. He met me in the moments that I was anxious and unsure that I had done the right thing. He has spoken to me through the Bible, my time with Him and through other people. God has walked with me through this season of rest and healing.
Out of this season I have gained and learned some things:
- I have joy again.
- I truly have peace now.
- I am happy again.
- I have learned more about myself.
- I have learned more about who God created me to be.
- I have learned more about how broken I truly was and how other people saw it in me.
- I have learned that I had even deceived myself about my brokenness and emotional state.
- I have a deeper relationship with God than I have ever had.
- I have learned to rest and the importance of it.
- I have learned to trust and have faith in God in a new way.
- I have learned more about community and how it is crucial to have.
- I have a zeal for life again.
- I am starting to utilize my creativity again.
- I have learned that my brokenness does not mean that my story is over.
It is important to take time to rest and take time alone for anyone but especially for those in ministry or in a profession that helps others.
“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)
“Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.” (John 6:15)
Jesus did this on a regular basis. And if Jesus had to do this how much more important is it for us humans. We need to have a rhythm and focus in our life that allows us to have rest and focus on our relationship with God. We need to slow down in life and not always be rushing off to the next thing. While you may not be able to take time off of work for a couple months to rest like I have; it is still important to integrate rest in our lives in a regular basis.
***This is part of a series of blog posts of me sharing about my burnout and things I have been learning through this. They are numbered in the order that they are written in and to indicate that they are part of this series.***
50 Years of Choosing You
Howard and Edie celebrated being married for 50th years. This is 50 years of choosing to serve God and each other. They have built a legacy that is great. I loved watching how they interacted with each other and how they are still in love after so many years. As in any other relationship they have had the good times and the not so good times. In all that they still chose to choose each other.
This is their wedding day picture and the original cake topper.
They recommitted their love for each other with a vow renewal service.
“And I’d choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I’d find you and I’d choose you.” — Kiersten White (The Chaos of Stars)
I love listening to their family and friends talking about Howard and Edie. Part of they legacy is their children and grandchildren.
Venue: Houston Run Community Center
Flowers: Florals in Time
Photography: Marlo & Co
Meet Marilyn
I realized that I never did an introduction blog post about me. So here it is; along with an announcement about some changes that are coming to the blog.
My name is Marilyn. I am the creator of this blog and Marlo & Co.
Photo credit: Acorns + Aperture
I am an aunt to a small tribe of nieces and nephews. They keep me young and love to hang out with me. I love creating memories with them.
I am a business owner of Marlo & Co. I love to celebrate stories. I identify myself as a photographer and storyteller. I love to hear other people’s stories and love to capture them. I believe that everyone has a story to tell and that their story matters. My favorite way I do this is through my Rocking Chair Story Session. This is a session where I get to sit down and listen to a senior’s story then capture it in a book that is created just for them.
My love for seniors started at a young age. My great grandparents lived with my grandparents. I look back at the memories that we made and love that I got to spend time with them as a child. Once of my memories is asking my great grandfather to hold a doll for us while we played. He hated this doll. We knew this and I think we did this to see the look of annoyance on his face.
If you have been following this blog for anytime, this blog talks about my faith and relationship with God. This is one of the most important relationships that I have in my life. I am grateful that the Creator of the universe wants to have a relationship with me through Jesus. And that I do not have to do life alone. If you want to know more about this, just ask me!
Talking about relationships, I love relationships! I have been created to be a very relational person and love to spend time with those around me. If you ever meet me in person and or work with me, most likely we will become friends. I believe we are all created for relationships and community with each other.
This is one of my favorite people, Danielle, and myself at a concert in the middle of February.
In May 2019, I retired from the social work field. I was in it for 10.5 years. I loved every moment of it. I left the social work field because of burnout. I did not realize how real and intense burnout can be until I experienced it. I am still recovering from it. I have taken time off to just rest in God and to just be. I am currently writing a blog series on my experience of burnout. Here is the link for first post in my burnout series.
I am essentially starting all over in life right now. It is a weird but exciting feeling to be doing this in my mid thirties. I get to recreate what I want my life to look like. This is something that not everyone gets the privilege to do so. Or rather are too scared to do so because of the unknown. Living in the unknown has its moments but I would not want to be in any other spot than this right now at this moment because God is teaching me valuable lessons that I will carry with me and share with others.
Fun facts about me:
Tacos are my love language!
I love red shoes and red lipstick.
Traveling and exploring new places is one of my favorite things to do.
Certified by state of Pennsylvania for floriculture and horticulture.
My first language/dialect was PA Dutch not English.
I have a hidden talent of sarcasm and silliness (only comes out when I am comfortable with you).
I bought my sister and her family a van for Christmas last year!
I am the oldest of 4 girls.
I am an introvert.
So…. here is my announcement! I am going to be making some changes to this blog. I will still write about my relationship with God and what I am learning along the way. But I am going to add more content. This content will show more of me as a whole rather than just one side of me. It will include blog posts from my work as a photographer/storyteller and some fun personal things. I will include more photos with the blog posts than I do now. I am excited to share these topics with you!
I want you to do one thing so I can meet you! Share a fun fact about yourself in the comments so I can get to know you!
Recent Comments