Hello everyone.
We hope and pray you’re all doing ok out there. WHAT A WEEK it has been. I actually can’t even believe it’s just been a week of UK lockdown. UNPRECEDENTED is the word of the moment and so rightly so.
Firstly, can we just start by saying thank you, clients and industry friends alike for all just being so amazing.
We have had countless lovely messages this week from so many of you. Messages just full of genuine care and support. We’ve been on the receiving end of amazing amounts of generosity and kindness too, as we’ve been isolating for almost two weeks now and our doorstep has never been so thankful. Amidst all the truly awful things which this virus has brought to our world – so much good is coming out too- and for this we are so thankful.
So, What are we doing?
For any of our couples whose weddings have been affected by the Coronavirus, if you haven’t seen already from our Instagram – we are currently offering a free design service to anyone looking to let their guests know the changes being made to your wedding plans.
We truly understand how heartbreaking it must be, and wanted to offer something / anything – which may ease the stress of this all right now.
We have said it time and time again on our socials, but we are here for you.
It feels like the tiniest drop in the ocean amidst all that is going on, but if it can help anyone at all take away any stress, we are so happy to be able to do this.
Operationally, we have been away from our studio since last Monday and we have no plans or ways to bring any of our equipment home with. Actually, our landlord took the decision on Monday to lock up our entire building to try and stop the spread of this virus, and we applaud him for that.
For now, we will make do with our makeshift office in our bedroom in which we have our two Macs and a small home printer.
Our hearts and minds have been on overdrive this last week, as I am sure we all have experienced in various ways. Initially our thoughts went to what could we offer as an alternative to wedding stationery if all weddings are on hold for now.
But really, we just want to help. In whatever way we can right now.
Amidst these whirring thoughts of what we could do, every time I find myself praying, I have heard the same back time and time again.
BE STILL
BE STILL AND KNOW that I am God.
So we’re really trying this too. Being still, (as much as we can with the 3 little maddies!)
It goes against the very way we’ve been wired for so long, which is clearly why having measures put in place to keep us all at home, with our our work seems like SUCH a hard task for us all.
There was something circulating last week, as we were all just adjusting to this new way of life. Many of you will have seen it I’m sure, I think we even shared it on our stories one day after seeing it on our one of 2019 brides feeds. It truly resonated with me, right to my very core. It starts;
With this open time
You do not have to write the next best-selling novel
You do not have to get in the best shape of your life
You do not have to start that podcast
What you can do instead is observe this pause…
WOW.
The following day I had countless drops into my spirit about this “being still”
We have been taking the time with the kids each morning to do a little devotional from Judah’s little bible. One of the bonus’ of homeschooling (i say this in the loosest term) is being able to bring back into “the curriculum” (again, extremely loose here!) some things which really matter to us. And this is starting each day with the bible.
That very next day, after hearing the message about being still, can you guess what was in the devotional – YIP – the very verse, BE STILL and know that I am God.Loud and clear in its stillness. It’s came at us again and again, through verses and songs people have shared with me. Even just this morning Jack and I downloaded the new Jeremy Riddle album and one of his songs, starts with this very line. (song link at end of email)
We’ve never been overly vocal within our social platforms about our Faith, although I am sure most of you will know we are christians. Personally I’ve always wrestled with whether we should share more about our faith, partially because I don’t want to sound preachy and maybe sometimes if I’m honest, I’m scared of what others will think.
Christians don’t always get the best rep out there- I know this all too well. I was one of those christian judgers for a huge part of my life and I was forever rolling my eyes when my family (or anyone) tried to share anything about God with me. Yet, had it not been for their perseverance with me – I might never have picked up my own bible when I was at a crisis point in my own life and truly found the answers I needed,
So, amidst all that is going on in the world right now, I have a real sense of urgency in my spirit about sharing what’s genuinely on our hearts right now. I think its safe to say this whole situation has us all looking at our lives and our values a little (lot) differently.
We paused our #marchmeetthemaker campaign last week as it felt so strange posting about “normal” stuff when the world is currently in crisis.We say this with absolutely no judgement at anyone who has made other choices, but for us it just seemed strange to carry on as normal, when everything else seemed to be turning on its head.
There is a lot of fear and anxiety around right now these feelings are very real as we all adjust and try and take stock of all that’s going on.
The two verses which we have been meditating on, day and night are below.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
“Say to those with anxious hearts, be Strong and do not fear, your God will come.”
We have designed some prints for you to download and print out at home.
Let their words speak over you, your homes and your families.
You can also find a wallpaper version on our Insta stories which we will save in our highlights and perhaps a desktop version too since we are all stuck at home, in our computers a lot right now. You can also download the full pack here
Our plan currently is to release a bunch of these downloads each week with a wee newsletter and update of all that’s going on. This is however, subject to change as we are well prepared to help in any kind of practical level we can over the next few weeks if we are needed.
Our hearts truly break for anyone suffering with this right now and please know and take some comfort in the fact that we, along with many many others are praying for you right now. If there is anything further we can do for any of you, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.
We love you. We are here for you. We are all in this together.
Lorna & Jack
& the EYiLOVE team xxx
