Apr
3
2020
Time Out
Posted in Daily Living 6 Comments
When my children were little, there were times that discipline was needed.
Having something taken away from them was always the worst thing I could do.
Not only was their favorite toy taken away, it was banished.
It was banished to my bedroom closet until the next morning.
I can still see them walking down the long upstairs hallway.
They would carry their special toy tenderly in their arms.
They had to put the special toy into my closet.
They had to close the door.
I had to be strong when I saw the sad look on their face.
Puppy dog eyes would not persuade me.
Quivering lips would not change my mind.
They needed to learn and they needed to know that their actions have consequences.
Time out was not as effective as toy banishment was in our home.
I know that time out works for many parents.
It just didn’t seem to work here.
I thought about that recently when I was on the phone with a friend.
This sweet woman and I have been friends for many years.
We met each other at church many years ago.
We have been in Bible study together for just as long.
She is a faithful friend and a wonderful prayer partner.
I know that she is a phone call away for anything that might need prayer.
She knows the same about me.
She has a sweet spirit and can be trusted with any prayer request.
During this time of social distancing, we have tried to talk weekly and pray on the phone.
Each of us clings to the Lord.
Each of us trusts in His tender mercy and goodness.
Each of us believes in His sovereignty.
Each of us finds comfort in His love.
We talked about all that is happening in our world.
We were honest about the things that concern us.
We know that it would be very easy to spiral down in our thoughts.
We reminded each other that as believers in the Lord Jesus, we have the mind of Christ.
Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
(1 Corinthians 2:16)
We talked about what we thought life would be like on the other side of this virus crisis.
We talked about what we hoped would remain.
What lessons will we have learned from this time that we will want to keep in our life?
What good will come out of this time of social isolation?
It’s like a time out, my friend said.
I asked her to explain.
Remember when you put your child in time out?
You think they will learn something from the time alone on the steps or in their room.
Often, they get up from the time out and haven’t learned a thing.
They are just glad to be set free.
The lesson hasn’t really sunk in.
This time of social isolation is like a time out.
I thought about what my friend said.
This virus crisis is a sort of time out for the world.
It is unwanted.
It is isolating.
When it is behind us, what will we have learned?
Will we get up from our time out and continue as we were before?
Will we be so glad when the confinement is lifted, we will jump right back to our activities?
Or will we have learned some lessons in the process?
A time out is only effective if a change of behavior follows.
A time out is meaningful if the heart is changed in the process.
The worst thing we can do is end our time of isolation and jump right back in.
The worst thing we can do is jump right back in without reflection and boundaries.
Time out is only effective if the heart is changed.
The heart is only changed by God’s intervention.
We are learning that things we thought were so important are not that important.
We are realizing that there are many things we can do without.
We are resetting our priorities.
We are weeding superfluous things from our life that are unnecessary.
We are doing without and being creative with what we do have.
We are finding new ways to connect with each other.
We are created for community.
At the time we need community most, we cannot have it.
At the time we need each other the most, we are separated.
At the time we need one-anothering, we are socially distant.
What are we going to learn from our time out?
Will our hearts be changed?
Are there some aspects of our time out that we will hold onto when this is over?
What have we learned?
Oh I certainly hope some changes are made–We have to pray for society to think differently about priorities and go back to some ‘old-fashioned’ values. This was a great post!
Thank you, Sue.
I do hope we will all be wiser on the other side of this crisis.
Gina
Thank you, Gina; just what I needed to read and to ponder. What would God have me learn from this time out? Will my heart be changed? How I pray so.
Susie,
I pray the same for myself, as well.
Blessings to you.
Gina
Dear Gina,
Thanks be to our Lord and Savior for ever giving us time and space to come to Him, be quiet with Him, ponder and talk with Him. May the questions in your blog be simmering in the hearts and minds of many, many people. They are in mine.
Michelle,
The questions are in my mind as well.
We will not come out of this time unchanged.
May the changes be for our good and His glory.
Gina