March 22, 2020

19 Ways to Care-for-your-Soul…during Stay-at-Home COVID-19

During these challenging stay-at-home days, let me encourage you to cultivate your friendship with God, deepen your friendship with the community of God, and consider ways to serve others in the name of our Triune God, our loving Father, gracious Savior, and empowering Holy Spirit. As we all practice social distancing and collectively fight the pandemic, it’s important that we care for our own soul and the souls of others within our reach, in both new and ancient ways:

1. Pray – now more than ever, we need to be in our prayer closets entrusting our hearts and lives and concerns into the loving hands of our faithful God.
2. Walk – sheltering inside days on end will contribute to sadness, boredom, fretting, fearing, and obsessing…take a daily walk and get some fresh air.
3. Rest – pay attention to your body and get much needed rest; perhaps even consider a daily nap to keep your heart, mind, body, and spirit fresh.
4. Play – maybe it’s time to get out those puzzles, board or card games, and engage with a loved one around something less weighty and more relaxing.
5. Write – write a note, craft a poem, start or restart your journal, or simply put words down on paper that describe the current state of your soul.
6. Read – starting with the Bible, Christian materials, and perhaps a good novel, or a self-help book, read slowly, purposefully, restfully, meditatively.
7. Create – contemplative creative play is worth practicing, bringing to life that “other” side of your productivity: color, paint, mold clay, take photos.
8. Cook – instead of eating instant foods made by manufacturers, pull out a fun, easy, or even a more complex recipe and enjoy a good meal or treat.
9. Call – in this digital age it’s tempting to think we can stay in touch with friends and loved ones only one way; pick up the phone and call instead.
10. Serve – guaranteed there are neighbors around you in need of an act of kindness and grace; ask the Lord to lead you to do something simple for another.
11. Forgive – in the busy fray of life we often ignore our anger, frustration, and conflict with others; ask the Lord if it might be time to forgive and move on.
12. Laugh – we all need some good news to counter all the sad news; give yourself permission to be lighthearted, knowing that laughter is good for the soul.
13. Notice – with open space and less responsibilities (unless you’re on the front lines of medical care, etc.) observe springtime popping all around you.
14. Hope – in times of trouble, hardship, suffering, and sadness, look in God’s Word for words of hope and comfort that will keep you moving forward.
15. Declutter – take it one room or one drawer or one closet or one file at a time and purpose to simplify, clear out, and/or dust off what’s been ignored.
16. Slow – choose a different pace for your days and watch how your world slows down with you; linger over tasks, lessen the load, and live more fully.
17. Thank – lean fully into gratitude, for it will heal and strengthen you like few other attitudes; as you practice thankfulness your heart will swell with joy.
18. Listen – as tempting as it may be to focus on yourself, practice the fine art of listening – to God and to others, without competing or correcting them.
19. Love – the most important way to care for your soul is to love God, and then love your neighbor as yourself; love will empower us through this season.

Add your own ways to care for your soul during this season of at-homeness, practicing the presence of God and a preference for God, in all aspects of our lives as friends of God and friends with others in his name.

God bless you with an abundance of his grace, joy, and peace as you experience God’s kindness and goodness amidst this worldwide pandemic. Lord, have mercy!