social distancing; grateful; fear; positive; negative;recoginition

2020 has been a year we never expected. Since March, our country and in many cases the entire world has been locked down. Schools were closed. Stores were tightly controlled. Offices were all but abandoned. Traffic was non-existent. The daily Covid-19 updates have become as important as any stock market or oil price index. We’ve been told not to wear mask and then mandated to wear a mask or be fined. Businesses count people to be sure the “magic” occupancy number is never passed. Restaurants struggle with full costs with 50% capacity requirements. Churches have been shuttered. Weddings have been postponed or greatly reduced in scope. Trips were cancelled. We have hidden away in an effort to escape the corona virus.

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
Psalm 56:3 NIV

I will say that I have been amazed at the fear (and honestly the panic) I have witnessed among my friends and family. Maybe because I’m a numbers person, I’ve not been as alarmed by the daily counts. Statistics are just that: statistics. Without clearly defined parameters, statistics are often useless. I have read the daily Covid-19 updates. I have seen the upticks in positive tests. It seems that the media uses raw numbers to fuel the panic. I can’t help but ask about the parameters: How many of the positive tests were retests? What is the % of positive tests to the total number of tests? What is the false positive/negative rate used to normalize the data? Why are we not using the Diamond Princess (a quarantined, microcosm) for forecasting and comparisons?

“For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them.”
2 Timothy 1:7 TLB

The schools are beginning to open up to the great relief (and even joy) of many parents and students. There is still great fear. But, if we look at previous years, the beginning of school always signaled the spread of colds, viruses, flu, etc. This year, with sanitation as the focal point, I would think they students and teachers are safer than ever. I fully expect that the Covid-19 virus will move from epidemic to a part of regular life. It will never fully disappear. We have to learn to live with it and its varying mutations much as we currently do with the various flu strains. Just as we had to build an immunity to the viruses that caused measles, mumps, smallpox, chickenpox, polio, etc., we will have to find a level of immunity to this virus.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me..” Psalm 23:4 NIV
Psalm 23:4 NIV

I know that this virus is virulent and can be deadly. (I know the same thing about the measles. I survived my 2 week bout with the measles during the outbreak of 1977.) For those that have lost loved ones to this pandemic, I have the deepest sympathy. I know others that have recovered but are still suffering the after effects. I have truly sorry. But, at some point, we have to allow people the freedom to live the best life that they can. We have to move forward in the best way that we can.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6:34 NIV

Today, I have a selection of masks to wear when I leave the house. I have hand sanitizer in my purse, in my car and on my desk at work. I’ve have grown accustomed to “attending” church in my living room. I’ve learned to use Zoom and have actually connected faces to names in my weekly Zoom prayer meeting. I’ve enjoyed the lack of traffic as I journeyed to the office as an “essential person.” I’ve tried take-out from new places with varying degrees of success. Curb-side pickup was already a favorite of mine and that hasn’t changed. I’m doing my best to be safe and free of fear. I’ve grown accustomed to asking for permission before entering an elevator with another person.

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:4 NIV

I hope the day comes (very soon) when masks are an option not a mandate. I look forward to seeing friends and hugging or shaking hands without hesitation. I’m praying for all businesses to fully reopen and for people to be allowed to return to work.

These are my goals for today:

To live my life as fully as God will allow
To follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in every undertaking
To be sensitive the fears and concerns of other with feeling guilt for not sharing those same fears and concerns
To avoid the frenzy that has become the media
To ask questions, seek the fact, act on the truth

What are your goals to get through the next few months, weeks, days or even hours? How will you move forward?

Why are our measurements and comparisons often negative?

When discussing the current pandemic, we focus on the number of current cases and deaths. While these are a valid numbers, why are the number of recoveries not mentioned?

Instead of celebrating that I have a safe home in which to live, I complain about the size or the style or the changes than need to be made.

I look at my overly full closet and moan about having nothing to wear.

My pantry and refrigerator are fully stocked, but I yearn to eat out in a sit down restaurant.

I bemoan coming to work (as an identified essential) while others are sheltering at home. But, I neglect to be thankful for an income and a faster commute.

I watch with fear as the price of oil drops and forget to enjoy the cheaper gas costs.

I whine about not being able to see/visit with my friends in family groups or at church. However, I overlook the opportunities this affords me to spend time studying, crafting and concentrating on my family.

It’s easy to concentrate on what we are missing or losing. This pandemic is affecting weddings and funerals, work and vacations. Maybe, this is a time to refocus on what is important. It’s the marriage that should be the focus, not the wedding. We should cherish the living instead of waiting until it’s too late. We need to count ourselves fortunate that we can work without letting it be the focus of our lives. And, the best vacations are all about spending time with the ones that we love and cherish, not the location that we visit or the entertainment.

Life will return to normal. We will get to have the celebrations as well as all the other options for entertainment and/or travel. Our routines will again take over our lives. One can only hope and pray that we do not forget the positive lessons that we learn right now.

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
I’ve also concluded that whatever God does, that’s the way it’s going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God’s done it and that’s it. That’s so we’ll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Whatever was, is.
Whatever will be, is.
That’s how it always is with God.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15 MSG