{"id":2405,"date":"2021-01-05T14:00:48","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T19:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/?p=2405"},"modified":"2023-07-18T21:08:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T01:08:29","slug":"lessons-from-the-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/2021\/lessons-from-the-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Lessons From the Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Two years ago my husband, infant daughter, two cats, and I moved from Oklahoma to Florida to begin my tenure track position at the University of Florida. A steep learning curve ensued in almost all areas of life. We were beginning to find our feet\u2026and then 2020 hit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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The world irrevocably changed with the pandemic. It is an uncertain, challenging, and exhausting year! Suddenly the traditional rules of tenure-track productivity don\u2019t seem that important.<\/p>

I offer two related lessons from early in the pandemic I hope can be of encouragement.<\/p>

The first came from watching the \u201cVeggie Tales\u201d version of Noah\u2019s ark with my daughter. What struck me in this particularly inventive interpretation was the story of Shem (apparently in zucchini form). Newly married, \u2018Shem\u2019 raves about all their upcoming plans. And just like that, the flood comes, sweeping away everything he thought he needed. They float around on that boat for a long time before God reveals the next steps.<\/p>

I think many of us can identify with not being able to rely on the plans we made and the need to trust God.<\/p>

But what does it look like to trust God? Consider Psalm 46.<\/p>

I walk parts of our neighborhood daily, with a distinct waddle now as I am pregnant with my second baby. Just a few houses down from ours, some chalk art on the driveway had the words \u2018God.fidence\u2019 and \u2018Psalm 46\u2019.<\/p>

It took me a while to figure out the first word. I know Psalms 46 as my father had quoted \u201cbe still and know that I am God\u201d to me. I had thought of it as a comforting whisper. Then I went and reread Psalm 46\u2026.<\/p>

And what fearsome beauty it contains! An entreaty to trust God as our \u2018refuge and strength\u2019, though everything we know is torn away. God\u2019s power and authority and sovereignty over nations shine clearly. So, by the time we get to \u201cbe still and know that I am God\u201d in verse 10, I no longer see it as a whispering plea, but as a powerful command, challenging us to reconcile who we believe God is, and what role He plays in our lives. We must also evaluate whether or not we trust Him.<\/p>

\u201cDo you have God.fidence?\u201d (confidence in God)<\/span><\/p>

Any upheaval brings opportunities for growth, renewal, and reconciliation. My prayer is that I would have sufficient trust to step out differently in the new school year, to see the possibilities inside and outside of the academy.<\/p>

Second, God has taught me so much through my students. Ever notice how many don\u2019t ask for help when they need it? Me too!<\/p>

But God says, \u201cDon\u2019t be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guide your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus\u201d (Phil. 4:6-7).<\/p>

I\u2019m fortunate. I have a good earthly father. If he says not to worry, I believe him. Our Heavenly Father, the Author of love, and with all authority says it too. Have God.fidence.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Esther Mullens<\/b>
Department of Geography
University of Florida<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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[…]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50274,"featured_media":286,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2437],"tags":[2955,2938,2877,2934],"class_list":["post-2405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-faith","tag-esther-mullens","tag-god","tag-pandemic","tag-trust"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLessons From the Pandemic - Faculty Commons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/campus.cru.org\/faculty\/2021\/lessons-from-the-pandemic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lessons From the Pandemic - Faculty Commons\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Two years ago my husband, infant daughter, two cats, and I moved from Oklahoma to Florida to begin my tenure track position at the University of Florida. 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