I chose to isolate at my mum's home to ensure I could be with her if she needed help because she had a stroke last year. I also have to be very careful because I have asthma, so it was a good option and she is local.
I hire the church spaces at Richmond 3 times a week to run my youth theatre sessions and obviously these had to stop as well. So, life feels very different for me at the moment as it does for us all. My adult sons are still living at home. Jack is 20 and looking to go to university next year and my older son Sammie works for the local charity 'Just the Job'.
I sometimes feel a bit useless being in isolation, but I do have a list of older folk who I phone each week and I send Sammie their shopping lists so he can shop for them and drop it to their doors. Jack does a bit of volunteer mowing for older folk, but he has to be careful due to his asthma. I exercise in my mum's lovely long garden each day. I worry about the young people missing out on youth theatre, but I know this is for the best of everyone.
I feel I have learned a lot about myself during this time because I have been forced to slow down and that has been a real positive thing for me. I have read lots of new plays and enjoyed more time with my bible and private worship. I have enjoyed times of prayer on the phone with folk and like others I have discovered the joys of online group meetings. I think this has been a real blessing to me and many at this time.
While theatres are closed it has been great to see lots of big productions shown on the internet and I have kept my young people fully informed of all of this via our online media platforms. It's been great to see so many doing great things in the community and despite us being apart we feel together.
We never saw this strange time coming, but I hope that as a community and wider world, continue to keep the positive we have learned from it. I feel God has given us time to pause and think about how we were living and shown us new ways. I pray the governments of the world will not waste this learning and help us to build better lives for everyone, especially those who are disadvantaged. I pray for the time when we can hug our family and friends again and I can continue my work with young people, but for now I am resting in God's love knowing he has this situation in his plan and care.
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superintendent@nydalesmeth.org.uk
01969 623818