Moms of Quarantine: Maximize These Moments

Dare I say, all moms have heard countless times, “Enjoy this time with your kids, it will go by fast.” Without a doubt, those who’ve gone before us want us to know these moments with our kids are precious, and it will be gone before we know it. 

Now take that sentiment and transplant it into your present reality. Normally life is hectic, and it seems almost impossible to slow down and soak in the sweetness. But here we are in this weird “pause” in time. COVID-19 has most of us on lock down. Everyone is stuck at home “until otherwise notified”. This means, if you are a mother with children in your home (even big “children”), you’ve been granted an unexpected blessing in disguise: You’ve been gifted extra time with your children that you wouldn’t otherwise have. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that this current crisis is a blessing, or this isolation is ideal, and I’m not saying we’d wish this on any society. But I am saying, the Coronavirus has put something in front of us that we ought to appreciate…a once in a lifetime opportunity to have extended time with the people under our roofs, especially the children who are going to be grown up and gone before we know it. 

Appreciate This Unique Season

Time is not the only gift, we’ve also been given more opportunities. Opportunities to invest. 

Aren’t there so many things you still want to teach your kids? Haven’t you always wished you had more time to shape their hearts, help them learn certain skills, or help them understand new things? Well, here you go, you have more opportunities right now than you’ll probably ever have again. 

You can use this time to teach practical skills, you can tackle character issues, or you can just buckle down and work extra on the basics (like obedience, or not complaining, getting along with siblings, etc.)  But more than anything, I think of Deuteronomy 6:6-7:

 ⁶ And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Has there ever been a better time to talk about God while sitting in your house, or walking by the way? And we can talk of him every time we lie down, and every time we rise. More than ever, we can do every one of those, every single day; very little is in our way. Now that is cool! Our children can have an accelerated course on the topic of God. 

Lord willing, our children can leave this weird season of life with new insights from God’s word, they can know more about following Jesus, and they can have more godly habits instilled in their life. Let’s take the opportunity we have in front of us to invest extra in the souls of our kids. 

Don’t Waste This Gift

Not only should we invest, but we should be especially grateful for this extra time we’ve been granted. While we know children are a blessing (Psalm 127:3-5), there’s usually so many things distracting our appreciation. And while we can’t (and shouldn’t) forever live in this isolated fashion, this is a great time to reflect on God’s goodness in giving us little people to raise up and invest in. 

So let’s make sure to soak in some of these moments. See the hidden blessing of being stuck inside together. Thank God for your children and don’t waste the opportunity you have before you. Notice the special gift each one is. Don’t only stare at your screens. Don’t let impatience or irritability push out possible connecting time. Don’t only try and accomplish a bunch of tasks. Don’t wish it all away. 

Even if being stuck at home is hard, or tiring, or demanding–see it as a gift. It’s a gift you won’t get for long. Certainly in this concentrated “stay-at-home” format, it will be over before you know it. Realistically, as every mom before us has already said, our kids’ entire childhood will be over before we know it!

So to all the mom’s out there, let’s maximize this odd pause in time. 

Just think, one day we will be those seasoned moms telling the younger ladies to enjoy their kids…and hopefully we’ll say it with a big fat smile knowing we surely did—especially during those unique months we were all forced to be inseparable back in the Spring of 2020.