So…how are you doing as we move into Year Two of the pandemic? If your yawning calendar looks like mine, events scheduled for 2021 continue to topple like dominos just as they did last year.
Several weeks ago, I shared seven tips for beating the winter blues. Here are three more things to lift your spirits, or those of someone else.
1. A Prayer
“Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen."
These simple words from the Book of Common Prayer have been burnished by centuries of use. How comforting they have been to me of late when I am emptied of speech before God.
2. A Puzzle
As a multi-tasker, I’m not one to spill a gazillion jigsaw pieces from a large box and leave them out for weeks on end until I’ve time to assemble them (which is, like, never.) And in the meantime, they consume the real estate on the dining room table intended for other activities, like preventing malnutrition.
Recently, though, my friend Katherine posted some pro tips for puzzlers here, and they are brilliant!
Get an inexpensive framed bulletin board and use that to assemble your puzzle. You can easily stash it under the bed when company comes. (Oh wait, no one is having company these days.)
Listen to an audiobook while you work so that your pandemic-weary brain is educated, entertained, or enlightened while you puzzle. I’ve recently discovered CHIRP, a site that offers super-low daily deals on audiobooks.
I’d also be thrilled to read to you myself! [I’m the narrator of the audio edition of my book This Life We Share, which you can listen to for free with an Audible trial.]
3. A present of hope
I had the privilege of contributing a story to author Grace Fox’s beautiful new devotional Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos, and I have a copy to share with a member of my View from the Ridge family.
Leave a comment below, and a name will be randomly drawn to receive this wonderful resource for times like these.
A prayer, a puzzle, a present of hope….if any of these resonate with you today, please take a moment to tell me so.
And if, like my family, you’re facing uncertain days, oh I so understand, friend! It’s so hard not to ask ,“What if…?” and be paralyzed by the thoughts that come. Instead, let’s substitute “God is…” and let the peace of His loving presence bathe our souls.
Copyright 2021, Maggie Wallem Rowe
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