Life goes on, just as the Beatles song tells us. No matter what happens in the world, people continue to live their lives as best they can, and they should.
For the mental and emotional stability of everyone, we need to remain optimistic and live our lives as normally as possible.
I recently read the delightful book, Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce. The fictional novel, set during WWII told of dances and nights out with friends and girls painting their legs to look like they were wearing stockings. Of course, it also depicted the air raids over London and the devastation of war, but what struck me was the reminder that even during war, life goes on. People fall in love and get married. Babies are born. Lives are lived.
For example,
This past weekend, our family visited a strawberry patch. Families could visit by appointment only, social distancing was in place, and everyone wore masks; but we had the most enjoyable afternoon we’ve had in quite some time.
When we got home, we made strawberry pie and strawberry shortcake, and we sliced strawberries for eating with whipped cream, all while sipping strawberry daiquiris. We even made homemade strawberry jam for the very first time!
Yesterday, my oldest, Rebecca, took her very last law school exam. She’s prepping to take the Bar Exam while also preparing for her upcoming wedding. Last Friday, we mailed the invitations, and we’re working on seating charts and placeholders. We are determined that life will go on.
A few weeks ago, we all gathered in our living room to watch the Facebook Live marriage of two of Rebecca’s closest friends. Though they were without all of their family, and their priest stood in the front yard outside the window, they laughed and cried their way through their vows. They were not going to let their love, their commitment to each other, or taking their vows be derailed by the world around them.
A few days ago, my cousin had a baby. In the midst of uncertainty and fear and chaos, she brought a new life into the world, and the radiant joy on her face, her husband’s face, and her mother’s face brought tears to my eyes. Though nobody could be with her in the delivery room, and her mother was stuck at home awaiting news, they embraced the moment, taking and sending picture after picture. As Dr. Malcolm tells paleobotanist, Ellie Sattler on their quest to spot a T-Rex from the “safety” of the Jurassic Park jeep, “Life finds a way.”
No matter what lies ahead, I will find a way to be hopeful and joyful. This, too, shall pass, and we will have many blessings and joys to look forward to, but why wait? In whatever ways we can, let’s start living again today, now, in this moment.
We must always find a way to ”Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12;12).
After all, Ob la di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah. La la, how life goes on!
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Amy Schisler is an award-winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miracles are all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vines was awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. Island of Miracles has outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her follow up, Island of Promise is a reader favorite. Amy’s children’s book is The Greatest Gift. The suspense novel, Summer’s Squall, and all of Amy’s books, can be found online and in stores. Her latest novel, Island of Promise, was recently awarded First Prize by the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Association as the best Inspirational Romance of 2018 and was awarded a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2019 for Inspirational Fiction. It is the 2019 winner for Best Inspirational Fiction in the RWA Golden Quill Contest, Best Romance in the American Book Awards, and a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award of Fiction. Amy’s 2019 work, The Devil’s Fortune, a finalist in the Writer’s Digest Self-Publishing Awards and winner of an Illumination Award, is based, in part, on Amy’s family history. The third book of Amy’s Chincoteague Island Trilogy, Island of Hope, was released in August of 2019.
Amy’s Chincoteague Island Trilogy is available as a complete set for your Kindle and is also available on audio!
You may follow Amy on Facebook at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor, Twitter @AmySchislerAuth, Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/amyschisler and at http://amyschislerauthor.com.
Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016), Island of Miracles (2017), Stations of the Cross Meditations for Moms (2017), The Greatest Gift (2017), Summer’s Squall (2017), Island of Promise (2018), The Devil’s Fortune (2019), Island of Hope (2019).
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