We are right now on a completely new journey. When will this end, will it ever be the same, how did this happen? Questions without answers. What do we do until we know the answers? We adapt, we accept and we make the best life possible even with restrictions!
Adapting is what we do best. For some who have atrophy or limited dexterity, adaptive utensils make eating without assistance possible. Even if assistance is needed…adapting is all part of the plan. Leg braces, walkers, wheelchairs, thickening products for drinks, pureeing food…these are all adaptive measures taken to ensure living a full and active life possible. You see, at Echoing Hills we have been adapting for years!
Right now, the entire world is adapting to a different way of life. Different ways of shopping and communicating, working from home, holding more online meetings, staying home and filling time with family, exercise, home schooling, online worship and so much more!
What are we learning from this? I would say one of the most exciting of all the revelations I have seen is that we miss gathering with friends, family, co-workers…we miss each other! In a society where, because of all the electronics, texting and messaging, we all felt that distance was what everyone wanted, I think we have been proven wrong! We are hungering right now for celebrations, conversations, and hugs…personal contact. Well, well…who would have guessed! We have slowed down!! Families are cooking together, sitting at the table together experiencing “time”! The gift of time! Fathers for the first time home instead of working long hours with little time for family. Mothers who are now teachers, experiencing their children’s classrooms in the living room. Weekends spent accomplishing projects on the “to do” list that we could not get to because we had so much to do.
I would be remiss if I did not mention boredom, frustration, anxiety, fear, stress, financial hardship and loneliness. However, I would also be remiss if I did not mention resilience, strength, faith, friendship, compassion, empathy and kindness. We are blessed to live in a country where the best medical care is available to us, where the government is finding ways to help the unemployed and closed businesses not suffer great loses, where we have amazing ways to communicate and check on others who need us. In addition, even though church buildings are closed to gathering, we are not closed, we are the church, we can pray. Have you seen people crying out to God, asking for help and direction…what if this brings people to Christ…can we endure for a while so we make sure others know HIM?
At Echoing Hills’ locations all over Ohio, there is happiness and joy, fun and activity in the midst of the uncertain journey. Because we are not only surviving, we are thriving. God is our foundation; He is our solid rock and mighty fortress. We celebrated Easter, participated in theme week, made signs to let your families know everything is going fine and we are doing well…along with a few that said I miss you and I love you. We celebrated birthdays, made dinner, baked cookies and got on with life. We’re doing okay on this unusual journey and we know very soon we will all be back together experiencing life…back to normal, maybe not exactly, but a better version of normal!!!
