Three Questions After Being Quarantined.

So much has been written about the Corona Virus (a.k.a. COVID19) that you may be getting tired of yet another article on this subject. Hold up before you change the channel. This article is not exactly about the virus. It is about what to do after being quarantined.

Yes, there will be a tomorrow. Life will get back to normal (whatever that is) eventually.

I want to challenge you to consider three questions before resuming your normal life.  These questions have preoccupied my mind since having to be quarantined. I have lived out my daily life doing my job albeit from a stay-at-home order in fear of spreading the virus to vulnerable populations. We have all learned new polite habits of social distancing and many have limited their exposure yet making essential trips to grocery stores. We all have learned to depend on technology to connect with co-workers and complete our tasks as assigned.

Yet, during these times, we need to ask three basic questions before proceeding with life as usual. Let me explain and challenge you to take inventory of your answers to these three questions.

1. Ask Why?  Before proceeding further to your life as it once was, ask yourself the purpose question of why?  That is, ask what the purpose is for what you do and what values you are pursuing.

This question is important because it means thinking through the what you will do by deciding why you do what you do.  We all have been forever changed. We cannot simply pick up where we left off before being asked to shelter-in-place. We cannot simply pick up where we last were. It is not like reading a good book and after laying it aside we simply start reading where we left the bookmark. We have to ask why?  Take note on your answers to all those things you once did but start with why.

2. Ask Why Not? Before you go any further you may miss-out on some of the essentials. You might want to do something but you feel that it can't be done than ask why not? 

Make a list of all the things and people service that you want to do but feel limited. Somehow you may feel that you cannot accomplish something but what are the barriers to getting to it? As you search for solutions to the barriers and the limitations you will find great hope in the potential outcomes.

This may require an example. I meet with people all day, every day. My role is to connect people and ministries to the importance of foster care. I set up appointments and make cold calls all day long. It is my passion. I love to see children in healthy homes. I love to see people connected to ministry to the least and most vulnerable of our communities. I have a passion to shed light on the many hidden injustices that I know people what to solve.  However, since my current situation means that I cannot speak to churches or groups of people and that I cannot travel to meet with leaders or network with groups, I may feel isolated and restricted. Yes, this is how I felt early on in this social distancing response to the pandemic.

However, I has to ask myself, why not?  I had to find out what the obstacles where and how to overcome them. I was forced to think outside the box. I was forced to explore possibilities and look passed the barriers. I had to implement technology into my way of doing business. I had to find a better use of email and other forms of social capital to accomplish my role. I also had to learn how to have effective home office environment. I had to be efficient and productive. I had to overcome any fear of failure and learn to serve the needs of others. These were going to be my way of overcoming problems.

It is also in life, on a normal day that I have to ask, why not? I cannot just make excuses for what I can't do something. I have to adapt. I have to find a new path. I have to solve the problems one-by-one and with each little decision I was able to accomplish the bigger needs and problems.

If you are at a place where you feel controlled by the environment or your given situation is not ideal, ask yourself, why not?

3. Ask Why Not Now? This is a when question, not a what or how questions. Before you do anything else, it is here that you ask the question of when! 

Asking why not now means thinking of the impact you can have in real time. If something is important for you to do when your return to normal, it is important to you act on that now! If seeing your friends or starting that new project is important to you when you get back to normal and you can't wait to get to it after the quarantine, it is important enough to act on it now.

The problem with dreams is that we wait until we wake up to act. If you are like me you day-dream all day long. Sometimes I find myself thinking about a solution to a problem that hasn't even happened yet. I am always thinking unnecessarily.  In other words, I am always trying to solve a problem that has not even happened yet. That is what most creative thinkers do but it drives practical people crazy.

These three questions are not just good for the quarantine. It is also good to think strategically about life, work, family, and projects.  It is also necessary to remove any potential barriers that often keep us from doing what we know we should be doing. It is also important to act on our ideas in real time. These three questions will inform our outcomes! 

The Bible is clear on these three questions.

Hebrews 11:1 -- Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not yet seen.
Philippians 3:14 -- I press on toward the goal to win the prize which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:13 -- I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.