The Christian Quarantine Mom Ways to Thrive During a Pandemic - Leah Spina

The Christian Quarantine Mom
Ways to Thrive During a Pandemic

This is a crazy season of being a mother.
Our mother worlds have been turned upside down. All the comfortable routines, schedules and life rhythms are gone. The things that fueled us to serve our families are paused. We are scrambling to create new routines in uncertain times with no hard end date. We are at home all day long with our family members.

Be encouraged. No mama has this quarantine-life figured out perfectly. We are all desperately dependent on God each day. My wise mother reminded me, “Is it bad to be dependent on God every hour?” She is right. Daily, desperate dependence on God is good. THIS is the environment when our faith can grow, not when life is perfect.

Have you ever heard the saying, “A mother is the heart of the home.” It is still true in a pandemic home. We mothers are the heart. Our husbands and children feel our presence. We are the pulse of our home culture. Sometimes I am strong, sometimes I am weak. But because they need me, I want to be strong when I can.

Here are some ideas to create a warm, loving home in the midst of the chaos.

1. Focus on 5 things you can be grateful for when you wake up. Before you get out of bed, reset your brain so you are not immediately flooded with fear, depression or anxiety. If we are not proactive, we are reactive. I do not like the reactive Leah during this pandemic. I am at my best when I feed my soul TRUTH and GOD’S WORD. What can we be grateful for? A faithful husband, healthy children, a home that keeps us dry and warm, a car that works, food to keep us fed, a God that never sleeps.

2. Acknowledge it’s tough.
My husband and I had a hard talk about complaining during this pandemic and the balance of supporting one another through the lows. I’m glad he reminded me to be careful about complaining because too much complaining never helps. It begins to make me feel overwhelmed. But I DO think it is important to occasionally talk through this time to our spouses and our children. Children often don’t know how to talk about their emotions. So I like to bring it up every now and then, “Hey, Samson. Do you miss jujitsu? How do you feel about this quarantine life? Sometimes I miss _.” This is healthy for us to all process our feelings and gain support and perspective. The enemy loves for us to keep things in the dark to fester. We can bring these feelings to the light and to truth! Call your mentor or an older mother to gain perspective, insight or encouragement on hard days. They are only a phone call away.

3. Get outside.
Try to get outside for 20 minutes each day with your children. Nature soothes the soul and spirit and points us to the Creator. Moms and kids need it! We like to either go on a bike ride or a walk down to a little creek off a paved bike trail. Then I sit in the shade and let the kids explore and throw rocks in the water for an hour. It is a surreal moment when the world feels right and normal again. We need exercise and fresh air!

4. Prayer.
If you don’t listen to anything else I say, please listen to this: prayer changes things more than anything else. Start creating daily prayer habits through your quarantine. Prayer dumps all the anxiety and fear and control off your shoulders and back to God, where it should rest. This needs to be done daily! Even if you are a mature Christian women! We all need prayer. Pray out loud with your children and spouse at mealtimes, when you wake up and are having coffee to start the day, when you go to bed, when a child gets hurt, when you feel overwhelmed, when you just yelled at your children! Pray! “Lord, we need you now!” Do you know how powerful that is? God is bigger than any situation or emotion. Prayer changes things.
 
It’s hard to see the good in these long, hard days. But if we turn this to God, we will emerge a stronger nation! I LOVE when darkness explodes to light– what the enemy meant for evil, God can turn to good! And it starts with mamas like you and me daily seeking God during this pandemic. I pray PEACE and STRENGTH and WIDOM for each of you, in Jesus’ mighty name.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Leah Spina
Mother, Author, Keynote Speaker
www.leahspina.com | leahspina@gmail.com

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