COVID19: March 16, 2020 - Changed Forever

Everyday, more shocking news. Sometimes, more often than that. Yesterday, we heard warnings from the CDC that 50 or more people shouldn’t gather together. Less than 24 hours later, we’re hearing 10. While that number continues to shrink, the number of days we can expect to remain in social-distancing mode grows. Now we’re talking months. 

Bars and restaurants are closing. That means that my son-in-law and son are facing unemployment. And a whole lot of other people. COVID19 is reaching into our lives wider and deeper than we ever could have anticipated. Businesses, schools, churches… closing any one of them threatens the lives of countless victims, either directly or indirectly. How will we ever recover from this? 

Anxiety is rampant, and we all know it’s going to get worse. Especially when we start to experience fatalities. There are people we know and love who probably won’t make it. That’s a harsh reality not many of us are ready to face. Instead, we watch for news updates throughout the day and hope for the best, knowing full well that the worst is yet to come.

Today in my noon Check-in and Prayer Zoom group, one of our members shared her father’s wisdom with us. He’s been through so much in his lifetime of 90+ years and is currently living in a retirement community that's in lock-down. He remarked to her that this is going to change the world forever, much like the Great Depression, or WWII. I know he's right.

I think of my grandson, Nick, who’s just five years old. His kindergarten year has been cut short. That, in and of itself, will impact the course of his life. Someday, God willing, he will tell his own grandchildren about the time when there was a global virus and everything shut down, including the schools. He will recall how he and his brother couldn’t go to the playground to play with other kids. His mother and father weren't able to work. People weren’t allowed to touch each another, and he didn’t see any of his friends or relatives for months. He may even have stories about those he knew who died. Yes, it will change the course of his life, as well of the lives of all the people who share this planet with him on March 16, 2020. The world has been changed forever.