What Does This Season Feel Like?

So this past weekend, as I sat in my simple confined shelter-in-place location, I had to wrestle with some depression. As I soaked in a bit of self-pity, an image of an Instapot came into my mind. Perhaps it was because I was hungry but now I see the Lord was trying to give me some divine insight. 

When you use this pot, you throw all of your raw ingredients into it along with some sauces/liquids and then you button down the hatch. And the pressurized pot begins to go to work. It doesn't look very appetizing when you throw everything in there at the start. It's just a bunch of raw, uncooked food. But after these ingredients go through the cooking pressure, the magic begins. When its done the completely cooked, delicious aroma meal emerges. 

That was the lesson for me. I feel like those raw ingredients at this moment, thrown into a small space and locked in tightly. I can only imagine what the families with children feel as they navigate the school work and the activities every day. Here at the start of week 7 of quarantine, the pressure has been enormous. What I am starving for is the bell that says the cooking time is over so I can take the lid off and enjoy. Lord, when will that be? How long is this going to take? And then I became so aware of all the people that are fighting each and every day to keep us safe. The first responders, law enforcement, doctors, nurses and others that walk into the fight every day. They are the ones in this viral pressure-cooker. I thought of those that have lost a loved one or friend to this disease. This isn't easy.

You may feel some of the same tensions I do, struggling at times and perfectly fine in others. Whatever the case, the rawness you feel is being made ready in this season for something better after it's run its course. So we wait. We pray. And we trust that the Lord will take all of our raw emotions and use this incredibly tense pressure to bring about the best possible version of ourselves. We are being tested. We are being prepared. We will come out changed. And we will be better able to tell the story of how Jesus Christ walked through COVID-19 with us every step of the way. That's what this season feels like for me. That's my story for now. Make sure you take the time to tell yours!