My Character Development During Quarantine

From February 14th through May 15th, 2020 by the power of the Holy Spirit, I was homebound and quarantined due to suffering a high ankle sprain that included a tibia fracture.  During that same time period the entire world was quarantine due to COVID-19.  In those three months of isolation, I was able to face spiritual baggage I was carrying and make adjustments in my character and habits that otherwise would not have been so readily addressed. 

I am thankful that I was able to identify areas of darkness that lurked in my soul that has been removed and replaced with a greater Spirit of worship.  Kayla and I had lengthy discussions regarding my working so many hours as I was commonly working until 7PM each night.  Also, my cell phone was constantly with me and I checked in with it almost every 10 minutes during just about every waking hour.  These challenges were destroying the quality of time I was spending with my wife.  We have addressed all those concerns and I truly feel that we are so much healthier because of the quarantine.   

My pastor Chris Hodges spoke a message entitled Building Healthy Emotions that really helped me to clearly see the path I needed to take to escape the challenges I was facing and the spiritual direction the Lord wanted time to travel.  

Pastor Chris list three pillars to obtain optimal success and fulfillment.  He likens these principals as stages of building a strong house: 

1. The foundation of relationships and connectedness.

2. The structure of purpose and routines

3. The beautifying of trust and self-control.

I will forever be grateful for these principals as I have rearranged the pattern of my life to optimize the quality of my relationships, the fruitfulness of my productivity, and honestly the quality and longevity of my health in general.  

Notable changes I have made include: 

- valuing relationships in general and having a greater sense of presence for everyone especially my beloved wife Kayla  

- waking up at 5AM on weekdays and spending the first hour of the day with the Lord our God Jesus the Holy Spirit whom I love the most     

- cutting off all work by 6PM Monday - Friday
- dedicating Monday's exclusively to marketing and sales 

- keeping my cell phone at a docking station when I am not working 

- to increase my presence I removed important obligations and relationships that were spreading me too thin    

Thank you so much dear Lord I am forever thankful for you and am so grateful for my relationship with you.

Sincerely,

Martin