Many of us are being asked, “How has social distancing and the quarantine impacted you?”
For us, we had numerous ministry speaking opportunities and travel canceled. Meetings have gone from in person to Zoom. Church is now by Zoom. Additionally, this pandemic has affected us in our personal lives, in that we must remain very mindful of staying calm and steady for our son Joey, who is 38, has special needs and doesn’t understand what is happening. If we show any fear, anger, or uncertainty, he would pick up on that, and that would change the dynamics of everything in our home! He understands that we’re awaiting word from President Trump and Ohio Governor DeWine, so I guess we’re off the hook! But special needs or not, we all are affected and impacted by this time of quarantine!
The pandemic has also helped us recognize that those of us in special needs family situations experience quarantine most, if not all of the time. With that thought, let’s realize a few things together as we all readjust to a new normal of quarantine:
Good hard laughter is as good as a hard cry. Laughing at some of the funny memes, just finding joy in the little things, and keeping worry on the lighter side lightens the load we feel.
The realization we are ALL affected. I think we’re all feeling like a hamster in a cage, looking out the front window with grieving, sadness, feeling stuck, and frustrated. Yet while we can experience some or many of the same things, we will all react or respond differently. We are all:
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Grieving cancelled events
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Cancelled big trips
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Loss of jobs
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Loss of income
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Loss of investments
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Loss of touch
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Need for child care
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Your specific loss.
And then, many of us are grieving the loss of LIFE EVENTS, which can’t all be rescheduled, such as
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Graduation, proms, etc.
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Deaths, that mean that life can’t be honored right now
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Postponed marriages, and figuring out “now what?”
What if God asks you the most important quarantine question: “WHERE has this quarantine hit you personally the hardest?”
Source: Special Needs Parenting- Key Ministry
