So I got an education Wednesday night this week. I was with our Creighton Occupational Therapy students helping them process their year. It was their last small group meet-up before the end of the semester. I’d sent Maddie and Emily a few questions last week – they’d turned them into a power-point presentation. Off we went for an entire hour!

Here were a few insights they had – see if any of this sounds familiar to you (paraphrasing a bit here):

• “I learned the meaning of the word lament. Taking inventory of loss. Expressing grief. Feeling sorrow and empathy for the state of the world around me.”
• “I know myself and my family better after this year. I hated being confined, but the extra time with my family actually made me appreciate them more.”
• “My empathy tank got a real work out! After a while you realize these aren’t just numbers of Covid cases or numbers of deaths. The numbers are people. Death is real.”
• “I actually got Covid! I felt awful, yet had to keep pushing my self to accomplish my work. I didn’t think I had that much determination in me!”
• “I lost my grandfather this year to Covid. I’ve been angry and disappointed with God to be honest. I’ve gone deeper into God, but I haven’t liked what he’s allowed to happen.”
• “Presence! I’d forgotten how important it is to just be present with people. When you can’t fix things you learn what it means to just be present with people.”

I was curious to see how they’d answer this… “What’s one thing your teachers have modeled for you that you hope will be true of your leadership?” Teaching became quite a challenge this year as you could imagine. “Our professors have had to put up with a lot of adjustments. I was pretty worried about how well I was learning procedures in practicum when we couldn’t actually be in the same room with my teachers. But they were great examples of being creative and flexible. They were patient and forgiving.”

Conversations like this are happening everywhere around me. Maybe you’re noticing that too. When you realize how strange a pandemic is bear in mind the adage “familiarity breads contempt.” We hate this thing, let’s be honest. But don’t let the scale of Covid’s menace keep you from learning valuable skills and insights. Be a champion of processing your experiences. And serve others by asking simple questions like these.

Faculty Meet and Greet – April 17

Tomorrow we’ll be hosting a virtual meet up with exactly the same agenda! My Year with Covid – Three Lessons Learned. We’ll flip the audience this time – and see what the professors are learning! Pray for our gathering – we’ve invited about 30 faculty members here in Omaha and across the state. Pray for a good turn out.