Confined At Home!

Dear Friends,

How do you do that and survive? I am not normally one that would do well being confined to my home. So when our Governor mandated that we not only practice social distancing when out and about and that most of the business establishments and restaurants be closed I was not sure how I would be able to handle that mandate. I am by nature a social animal. I love to be out with people. It is quite normal for me to meet up with friends for a meal or just get together over a cup of coffee.

At the same time, I found out that there is a medical condition going on within my body that for at least eight weeks, perhaps longer, requires a radical change in my diet and the elimination of an item that I consider essential to survival. Coffee! I love a good cup of strong, dark roast coffee. Many of you know that I start my morning having “Coffee with God,” and then throughout the day, meet with friends for coffee to just hanging out and be together. Because of my new diet coffee had to be eliminated and I needed to switch to herbal tea. Somehow, “Tea With God,” doesn’t have the same ring to it and sounds kind of wimpy to me.

So here I was, confined to home, minimal contact with friends, without one of my favorite food groups, coffee, and not able to eat all the foods I love but eating lots of green stuff that was supposed to be good for me but didn’t taste especially good to me. As you might well imagine this was going to be tough. I knew that in reality I didn’t have much of a choice so I needed to determine how I was going to do this and survive.

First, it was difficult for me to imagine what good could come out of being confined to my home. After quite a bit of prayer, asking God how this was going to be turned out for good and to help me do it, I began. What I’ve discovered will affect my life from this point forward. First, the time I’ve spent with my children and grandchildren increased and I’ve found that I want more time with them and because of this we have grown closer. I’ve been able to love and appreciate them more as we walk through a new level of relationship as a result of our time together.

I’ve been able to read more and appreciate the quiet time more. God has graciously shown me what a blessing it is to have this quiet time to read and spend more time with Him in deepening our relationship. I’ve been able to work on many of those “honey–do projects,” and found that doing these projects without the pressure of time has allowed me to enjoy them.

I been writing another book and this time has allowed me to write at a more leisurely pace and I think has increased the creativity in how I write and what I write. I don’t think about having to hurry and get this done so I can move on to other things.

And I think more important is the leisurely time I’ve been able to spend with friends on line. A bit more preparation and planning has had to go into being creative in how, and when we can get together. This makes the time we are together even more special and increases the appreciation we have for each other.

Overall when I look back at these last two months of home confinement I’ve begun to appreciate the value of this forced time. I hope that you have likewise been able to find some good in it for each of you that have also been “confined to home.”

Your giving to this work is a blessing. What is important to me is your heart of giving believing that what you are doing will make a difference in the Kingdom of God! Continue to lift us up in prayer. Thank you for your faithfulness.

God bless,

Mike

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