Our BE Well group asked me(!!!) to share how I am moving through my God centered days during this pandemic. I think it is imperative to own one's attitude--I can either bemoan how alien and difficult this period of time is from my pre-pandemic life or I can embrace that change presents OPPORTUNITIES. I'm sure you can tell which path I favor.

Albert Camus has a quote that I especially like:

In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.

Add from Romans 12:1-2 that my body/self is to be a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God and I am not to conform any longer to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of my mind. Enter a formula that can weather adversity, including COVID-19.

Every day, several times a day, no matter the weather, I exit the man-made confines of my home to go outside into the natural world and explore, breathe in, absorb, the abundance of gifts available from the Creator of the Universe. Ever present is my furry friend, Dakota. Sometimes we walk a long time. There is something rhythmically pleasing to our gait and it is easy to slip into meditation open to the ways of the Spirit and prayer time.  I find this tremendously satisfying and let's just say Poop-Boy feels much better, too.

Every day I need to learn something/challenge myself. It can be a new word or concept or practice of doing something but it allows my mind and/or body to continue to be flexible, not underused or worse yet, stagnant. It is like drinking from a fountain of youth. The pandemic has had a plethora (how do you like that word!) of new terms and challenges to which to adjust. I'm getting younger by the minute!

Every day I need to work. Some days entail long hours of labor, at the end of which progress has been made, the goal attained and there is payment of the monetary kind. Other days, servant days, may have equally long hours of service but the rewards are non-monetary and the satisfaction of being part of something greater than me borders on indescribable. Let's just say I am energized. Both are honorable, honing responsibility and commitment. Both are needed in this world and contribute to the well being of mankind. The continued witness of the pandemic front line workers leaves me in awe. I may not be an essential worker but all work, including mine, has value. I matter.

Every day I need to relax, renew, rest. These three R's can absolutely slay stress. God knew what He was doing when He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. What a mentor! I didn't always value downtime--I thought it was a time where I could cram in all the things I still had yet to finish--never thinking of it as essential to my well being. The pandemic has played havoc with schedules and time, and it turns out I am glad. I needed a reckoning. The three R's are a gift that only I can give to myself. The funny thing is, by adopting the three R's, I, Ann Sargeant, have more to offer this world. Who knew? Okay, I agree with you that God did and does know.

Every day I am grateful for the invincible summer inside of me. Every day I live in the present, committed to being transformed by the renewing of my mind to God's will and excited to see how the Spirit will work in and through my life. Every day offers me the chance to pursue myriad opportunities or cling desperately to a past which wasn't quite as rosy as I thought at the time. Every day I thank the Lord for bringing my little friend into my life at a time when I was consumed with sadness. Every day I can not even count all my blessings, including you, my friends from Faith, because they are so numerous. Every day is Thanksgiving.