Unexpected Gifts
The world has undergone a lot of change since early 2020. While many of the events over the last year and a half have been incredibly sad and difficult, I’ve found myself resisting the push to “go back to normal” because of the good changes.
It’s easy to talk about how 2020 made life harder, but I’d like to recognize the unexpected blessings it provided me.
More sleep
Without a commute or a need to be dressed up for an office environment, I’ve slept more. And while our culture glorifies those who “don’t sleep” as the hardest workers, we were created with rest in mind. I feel physically and emotionally healthier by learning to live with, rather than against, this design of creation.
Better balance
I love that schedules are so much more flexible than they were pre-COVID. Now, we can do housework or run errands on breaks from work, so that when our work days end, we can actually enjoy that time. Because of flexibility to fit things in throughout the day, my life feels so much more well-balanced.
Body image healing
Without being able to go to a gym every day in 2020, God brought to light how much emotional and physical energy I spent on “fixing” the body He already declared good. With working from home and being separated from my previous rhythms, I’ve begun breaking free from body shame and focusing on caring for the body I’ve been given, rather than punishing it for not fitting a cultural ideal.
Increased intentionality
This applies to relationships, passions, sleep, and things that matter. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in what’s “urgent” that I neglect to prioritize time and energy for the things that matter most. The past year and a half of being at home and rethinking my priorities has given me more space to cultivate intentionality with what matters to me.
These are the unexpected gifts I’ve received from the past year and a half—the things I don’t want to abandon in pursuit of normalcy.
What good and unexpected changes have you experienced in the last year and a half? What things do you want to cling to, even as the world shifts back to the way things were?
