Pandemic Pandemonium?
As I write this, I sit on the couch, while "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" blasts on the tv and my 4 year old spins around in circles in the middle of the living room, singing something completely unrelated to what's on the tv, holding our her magic wand from her most recent visit to Cinderella's castle, which has a stringed paper wrapped around the end of it. It's like she's conducting experiments on centrifugal force as the paper floats around just beyond the tip of the wand. Believe me, these are not the conditions under which I prefer to write. I'm one of those people who could always do complicated mathematics with the tv on and people talking, but to read or write with any kind of noise, particularly noise that contains words has been a near impossibility. But with COVID-19 pressing on is, this is the new reality. And for the interim I must adjust.
Late Friday afternoon as I packed up my office, preparing to work from home for an undetermined amount of time, I was saddened as I thought about my colleagues and how I didn't know when I might see them next. As much as the daily commute and endless stream of meetings can be a grind, I do truly enjoy the people I work with and will miss them greatly. I was so distracted by my thoughts of sadness and wonder as I went to leave the building that I made it halfway to my car before I realized I forgot to stop by the Accounting department to sign some final documents before being sequestered to our homes. Fortunately there was no difficulty reentering the building. I signed the documents, chatted a bit about the enormity of the situation, and parted ways.
The next few weeks are going to be an adjustment for us. I will be working from home, and it is expected that we will not drop our deliverables. I have an excellent team and I have full confidence that they will make this arrangement work. But our own home is going to be a bit different than usual. My husband's school is closing, so our 4 year old will be home, but my husband still needs to report to work from 10-2 everyday to provide virtual instruction. So I will be holding endless Skype meetings while providing instruction for and attending to the needs of our 4 year old from 10-2. Fortunately my work can be flexible and depending on how long this situation lasts I can try to avoid scheduling meetings during that time of day, but I won't have complete autonomy over my schedule and my colleagues, many of whom have their own kids to contend with, will just need to be patient and understanding when I have to go on mute for 5 minutes while I get the kid a drink, or a snack, or fix her iPad, or answer her question, or help her in the potty, or...
The coming weeks will be interesting. But we are trying to stay positive. I have no travel scheduled through the end of May. I will get to spend much, much, more time with the child I practically walked through fire to have and with my husband, who knows more than anyone how to lift my spirits. We are choosing to see these weeks as a blessing for our family. We also recognize how incredibly fortunate we are that this pandemic is not anticipated to disrupt our economic lives. We are both able to work during this time, and are able to care for our child with a little additional help from our oldest daughter.
Many others are not so fortunate. Some must still report to work, but their children are not in school, so they are scrambling to find childcare, which, if found, will increase their financial burden. Some can handle that impact easier than others. Some may find themselves out of work or their hours cut as business slows down. Some will get sick and won't have enough sick leave to cover the duration. These are opportunities for the church to step back up and be a source of hope and material support for those who are struggling and for those who've been negatively impacted by this virus and the economic impacts that result from the sincere and necessary actions taken to slow down its spread.
With every national crisis we see good and bad behaviors. We see hoarding (you know who you are.... you with all the toilet paper) and price gouging. But we also see kindness and sharing. I pray that in these weeks that Christians may be known for sharing, for being kind, for sacrificing what little they have to give to those who have even less, for being willing to care for the ill, and for following the guidelines of the CDC and government officials. This last one is a bit touchy.
We all need to give grace in days like these when we have different opinions. I am struck by how many Christians I see are posting on social media about how ridiculous they think the closings are and who are essentially bragging that their church is defying the governor's request to not hold services. I love Sunday. It's my favorite day of the week. And I hate that we didn't get to meet in person today, but I am so grateful that my church's leadership is taking this seriously and have decided to follow the recommendations of the governing authorities. As Christians we wave the banner of being pro-life. We cry out for the sanctity of life all the time. We need to understand that this situation with COVID-19 is also about the sanctity of life. Instead of the life of the unborn, here we need to stand for the sanctity of life of those among us who are older and have underlying health conditions that make them more vulnerable to the worst this virus has to offer. If you roll your eyes at those who are against vaccines and at those who don't buy into herd immunity, then you ought not roll your eye at the closing of schools, churches, and public places, because doing so is a different way of protecting the most vulnerable among us.
The situation in Italy is a scary cautionary tale of what can happen when we don't take this seriously enough. The mortality rate in Italy is substantially higher than it was in China. This is because China acted faster and kept their concentration of cases lower. Italy waited too long to take action and their concentration of cases is currently over 7 times that of China (Italy 409 cases per million people vs. 56 cases per million people in China - according to worldometers.com Coronavirus stats). I've been watching these stats for the last couple of weeks. While those still don't seem like a large number of cases compared to the total population, Italy started having a shortage of ventilators when their concentration was about a third of what it is now. Their healthcare system is overwhelmed. People cannot get the treatment they need and a greater portion of those who contract the disease are dying. Shutting down schools, churches, public places, etc is the difference between a mortality rate of less than 1% and one over 4 or 5%. We have the opportunity to save 3%-4% (or more) of the people who end up contracting the virus simply by slowing its spread so that the healthcare system can keep up with the demand. China & South Korea took drastic action and the number of new daily cases there has slowed down dramatically. We do these things because they work. Let's be known for our stance and actions that help protect all human life. Let us be seen as loving our neighbors by doing our part to slow the spread. Closures and cancellations are a pain, but if we truly value life, in this situation, they are worth it. Let's take it in stride, doing our best to make the most out of a quite-frankly difficult and scary situation.
Today has also been declared a National Day of Prayer. Let's make sure we take a moment to pray about this situation. Let's pray that this virus stops in its tracks. Let's pray that a vaccine can be produced quickly. Let's pray that families are strengthened by this time. Let's pray that the Lord's Church is a source of hope and help. Let's pray that the Lord would guide us in how we can best love our neighbors during these days. Let's pray that we as Christians will be an example of light for those watching, that they will see Jesus in us, calm and steady in the storm, loving the sick, the poor, and the sinner. Let's pray that God would be glorified.
And if you're a bit of an anxious type like me, one tip I'm trying to give myself (and still failing at the moment) is that if I have time to read yet another article or stat on the Coronavirus than I have time to read God's word. One of these is going to breed anxiety. The other will breed peace. Go ahead and read your articles, but make sure you also read God's Word. Let us not (as I so often do) trust in the statistics, but in our Lord who has promised that He would be with us. Always.
Stay well dear friends. Remember that none of this is a surprise to our Sovereign God and that He is still in control. These are days of uncertainty, but remember that uncertainty gives opportunity to faith. May our faith be increased. Much love to you all.