Ready For Another Quarantine? Here's 3 Things You Can Do

I had a dream that we went into another lockdown due to the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus.

I’m not sure if it will come to pass, but I bet that the mere thought of another lockdown is frightening to many of us. For some, the lockdown wasn’t crazy or difficult. But for others, it was traumatic.

Throughout 2020, the rate of depression within adults tripled. The entire country went through a nationwide quarantine, the lack of social interaction had dramatic effects on the entire population. Quarantine also made household tensions rise as divorce rates skyrocketed, increasing by 34%. I wonder, how many teenagers do you think have been affected by those divorce rates?

What are we going to do if we go through another quarantine, another lockdown?

I’m not smart enough to tell you what to do in terms of preventing virus spread or anything like that. But I do know what we can do to make sure that if we go into another quarantine, the isolation won’t be nearly as damaging.

We may not go into another quarantine. But if we do, we have to be prepared. And the best way we can do that is to learn from three lessons that the last lockdown could have taught us.

1. Slow Down

During the last quarantine, everything slowed down. This not only stressed out businesses and companies, but regular people as well. Why? Because our modern culture has conditioned us to move. We are always racing for progress, keep going forward, making next steps, 

moving, moving, moving, moving.

But I believe that God was trying to teach us a powerful lesson during the last quarantine, slow down. The concept of Sabbath is totally foreign to American culture and even American churches. We should take a page from the Jews, they observe Sabbath to this very day.

Take one day a week to slow down your life. Cook your own meal and take your time, sit on the front porch and just sit there for a while, read a book, invite some friends over and just talk and hang out.

When we slow down, we open our mind. This allows our soul to actually rest, and even process better. We think about the past, contemplate the future, and immerse ourselves in the present. When we slow down, we are reminded that our Father is still God.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

2. Decrease Social Media Use

One of the contributors to rise in depression is the amount of time we are glued to our phones. Spending so much time on social media not only creates more addiction, but it also adds to the issue of polarization in our country.

The Media profits off of your outrage. Don’t let the Media control your life. Start decreasing the time you spend on social media. Instead, pick up new hobbies. Learn to paint, start a new sport, learn a new instrument. The more balanced your life is, the happier you will be.

Now, obviously if it wasn’t for your phone or social media, you wouldn’t have even stumbled across this blog. I’m not saying get rid of it all together (though that wouldn’t be the worst idea), I don’t think that is realistic, just decrease the amount of time you spend on it. Create balance.

The more balanced your life is, the happier you will be.

3. Focus On Family

While being locked away with your family may make things a little more tense, last years quarantine presented an equally good opportunity to strengthen family relationships. In life, we are always presented with a crossroads. You can choose to be selfish or to be selfless.

When we choose to be selfish, we create strife and division within our family. But when we choose to be selfless, we focus on serving and loving one another. This creates a stronger family relationship.

Family doesn’t always mean blood relatives though, as there are some who may be totally severed from their blood relatives. Our friends can also be our family, and last year was an opportunity to really show this to be true.

If we had to do the quarantine again, what would you do differently? Try incorporating those good things into your life now, so if we have to do it again, you will already have set up good habits that improve your life and help make quarantine an opportunity for a restful experience.