My Anchor

In Virtual Conversation with Casey K

Casey - a mother, wife, and friend. Gentle spirit and grounded with faith in God. I had the privilege to speak to Casey and talk to her about life in lockdown. The past few years have been a challenge for all, and for some, like Casey, it also meant putting her dreams and wishes on hold to be able to look after her precious family…

The biggest change in my life since the first lockdown was a sudden halt to the studies I was pursuing and then being thrusted into full time homeschooling. It was a big challenge to not only deal with my own grief and disappointment about my studies coming to a premature end, but to also not let that grief determine the atmosphere I created in my home.

A big help for me and my family was going on daily walks. This worked superbly in the first lockdown as the weather was gorgeous but the second lockdown was colder and at times everything became very mundane. Whilst musing over this, I felt God impress upon me the importance of intentionally creating times of celebration. I had no power over what the government was doing or over school closures but I had authority over the atmosphere in my home. With this in mind, my husband and I elevated the fun of movie nights - each week a family member got to choose the film, we’d have special snacks and / or dinner that day as well, we made extra efforts for birthdays (we all had a lockdown birthday!), we planned to go to outdoor places we enjoyed and a family favourite - Sunday dessert! Please note I didn’t always feel like making the effort, I had my own emotions I was battling as well - I had to choose to do this.

My prayer times (by myself and with my husband) were a place for me to be able to express my own anxieties and also be so encouraged. Alongside this key things that helped me were continuing to serve in my church’s children ministry (we taught online), being a part of my church’s online services and women groups and investing in key friendships. A promise from the Bible that God used to encourage me several times was in Ephesians 3:20-21, ‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.’ God had to encourage me several times because sometimes I felt anxious and forgot that He has a plan and He is going to work it out, in fact He promises that it will be even better than before!

If I could send a message back in time to myself before the start of the pandemic started I would say “Stay encouraged and keep trusting God. He is going to work it out. Enjoy a slower pace and don't worry so much about the school stuff.” My husband’s advice to his pre-pandemic self really makes me laugh - “Buy as much hand sanitiser as you can and start selling it!” (We would have made a fortune if we had known about that!) For all the women reading this blog I would encourage to get to know Jesus. He is the best anchor. He is also Living Water. Nothing else can truly satisfy.

@justcallmequeen.caseyk

Justcallmequeen.com