Adding another string to your bow
I’m the kind of person who is always trying to do things better, I’m always reviewing and self analysing. Striving for better is good but what does that look like in a time of lockdown? If I’m being honest it’s been a rollercoaster of emotion for me. The highs of realising that I don’t need to factor in commuting to work time, or in fact need to get dressed to be able to be at work. The lows of realising that an extrovert who is usually full of chat can feel peopled out quickly when only seeing them virtually. Meal times aren’t regular, my dishes don’t clean themselves and I can’t just pop over to say hello to my mum.
To add to this everyone seems to have an idea for what you need to do during lockdown. There was a wave of information and ideas in the first couple of weeks and I felt overwhelmed by it all. Was I wasting lockdown if it took 3 days to get used to being in my own company all the time? Was I failing if I hadn’t deep cleaned my pantry by the end of week one? Have I missed the boat to bake a banana bread if that was last week’s challenge?
I’ve been doing some reflecting on what’s helpful to do in lockdown, of what I want to remember this time for. I’ve been wondering about what really matters in my life; what needs to continue and what could be seen as unnecessary. I’ve been thinking about my character and what makes me me.
But what does any of this have to do with adding another string to your bow?! I’m not trying to give you another 30 things you need to do before you start watching Netflix or make you feel guilty about taking your time to work out a lockdown routine but I had some thoughts on different aspects of my life that could do with a review or a boost. Sometimes with so much information and lots of different ideas it’s helpful to just narrow them down into categories so here’s my thoughts for 4 big categories that might help you make the most of lockdown.
Do something you’ve been meaning to do for a while
If you’ve ever had that sinking feeling that you’ll never get round to doing that thing you love doing because life is too busy, learn a new skill that you want to try and master or just need to do because you’ve procrastinated about it too much then this is your time. How about: Keepie uppies, reordering your wardrobe or knitting.
Do something that will boost your CV
If you’re about to start uni is there anything that you could do now that would help you on your course or give you a head start when you get there? How about: Touch typing, getting to grips with Excel spreadsheets or learning how to budget your money.
Do something that will grow your christian character
If you’re honest, is there a character trait that you don’t love about yourself or people have pointed out to you that you could improve? You could spend some of this time doing a couple of bible studies on this topic. In His Image – Jen Wilkin is a great resource for this kind of introspection that leads up to praise and glorify God in our actions and character.
Do something to help your witness
Those conversations with friends that you’ve felt didn’t really go anywhere or you felt under prepared for. This would be a great time, if you’re brave enough, to just ask your friends a couple of simple questions. Questions help you understand where your friend is struggling to believe and gives you a point to start from as you think about how to engage them with Jesus and the Bible. Try these questions on them and see what responses you get – ‘What do you think God is like?’ and ‘What’s the thing stopping you from believing in God?’
