Is Covid Your “Bamboo Time”?

I just spoke with my youngest daughter, Cera, who I have not seen in more than a year. I called with great hope that we might be together soon. We have not yet been vaccinated and though she received her vaccination, she is still hesitant. Now the hesitation is not due to fear of either of us getting COVID but instead, since it’s not yet proven that a vaccinated person cannot infect another, she’s afraid she might spread it to us.

The isolation from family and friends is wearing on all of us. It’s interesting to note that the first thing God declared as not good in the Bible was, “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) He knows none of us do well in isolation.

So as you pursue Your Refreshed Life how can you “reframe” this time, as psychologists say, to look at it from a positive rather than negative perspective? The process of how Chinese Bamboo grows offers a much better view of these many lonely and isolating months. It helps you look at this time with a fresh and encouraging approach, instead of the pain of endless waiting. How can you use this time, however long it lasts, for good? What can God be doing beneath the surface when you see no apparent benefit?

Chinese Bamboo is a strange plant. Once seeds are sown, the farmer waters and fertilizes the soil day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, until suddenly after 5 years the plant breaks ground and in 5 weeks shoots to a height of 90 feet!

Reen and I now refer to the entire COVID experience as our “Bamboo Time.” The wonderful thing we know is that God is at work even when we can’t see it. God neither “slumbers nor sleeps” (Psalm 121:4). He is omniscient so knows everything, is actively aware, and is doing something in our lives during this difficult time whether we understand it or not.

God is watering, fertilizing, and nurturing our lives beneath the surface, waiting for green growth to rise like the daffodils of Spring on the other side of COVID. No, we all hope it won’t take 5 years. But it is exactly what we see happening in our lives. The inability to be with family and friends during this time has pushed all of us “kicking and screaming” into this technological age. We are using ZOOM to communicate. We are taking video courses to learn and develop new areas of interest. We are spending more time reading and reflecting while the frantic pace of busy schedules and endless appointments no longer dominate our lives. We are growing beneath the surface whether the growth is evident right now or not. I know Reen and I are embracing more time getting to know God and each other more intimately with each passing quiet, winter day.

How about you? Are you struggling with the isolation and loneliness of COVID during grey days? Why not reframe this time? Transform it into a time of positive reflection and growth with the promise of exciting outcomes developing now. Anticipate wonderful days ahead when COVID is over. It’s your choice-what will you choose?