With lockdown forcing us all to spend much more time at home, not able to see friends like we would or go out and do activities and fun stuff on the weekends we can feel like we are trapped inside and no real options to spend our time.
It’s one thing to rest and take it easy this is an important part of life, it is another beast all together to feel idle and have this pent up energy and not being able to use it.
I’m naturally a home body, not that I don’t enjoy going out and enjoying the weekend, whether it be cheering on the Panthers at a home game, lunch with friends from church or a round of golf with my mates but I’m quite content to spend a Saturday around the house, thumbing through a paperback on the couch, fixing up odd jobs and just taking it easy with a movie and blanket on a grey rainy afternoon.
With much more time to do these activities I decided to enjoy some retro video games from when I was younger and it has been great fun
It’s been a mix of different games from flying missions as a X-Wing fighter in Star Wars, the graphics might be old but the story is still intriguing. I just wish the pilots on your side actually helped, they’re just glorified flies buzzing around not contributing at all to the mission and leaving me all the work to finish off.
I’ve also enjoyed the original StarCraft, a game much like chess only there are a lot of moving pieces at once as you control and build armies, set up supply depots and mine for materials to make it all – all this with an imminent alien attack when it’s all hands on deck to repel the invaders.
Another great game is the classic Goldeneye 007 where you are the secret agent James Bond and play through the scenes from the Goldeneye movie.
I’ve always found it funny that James Bond is a secret agent, yet everyone knows his name, what sort of serious secret agent is recognised everywhere he goes, I digress but that is a different matter
I’ve also decided to go through all my old school paperwork and boxes, not to throw it out because it’s interesting to go through and read – whatever young Chris was thinking on some questions honestly baffles me, just wish I could tell him it all turns out alright in the end.
Life question
It makes you think that life is the opposite of school and gives the test first and the lesson afterwards but ultimately we live our lives with God helping and guiding along the way, sometimes
He puts up big signs to steer us on our way and choices to make, other times He tells us where to look but not what to see and it comes back to Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 to 6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight
We should be encouraged to apply this to all aspects of our life, we don’t know when (or more scarily if) COVID will end, how it will play out or what life will look like on the other side. What we do know is that we have a God who is in control of all things, loves us dearly and has a plan and purpose for all our lives.
Through all the highs and lows, in the hills and valleys, we can press on and eagerly await to see what God has in store for those who love Him and how He can use us to build His Kingdom
Think on that the next time you are walking around the house wondering when life will get back to normal
Christopher Archibald lives in Sydney and is a Youth Leader at New Life Christian Church in Blacktown. A voracious reader, he ploughs through many books in a calendar year, with a bookcase that is constantly being rearranged to accommodate new additions.Christopher Archibald's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/christopher-archibald.html