No one could’ve anticipated these
past few weeks a year ago. It is easy to
stare at the figures and panic. I see
the “closed cases” results world wide with a 16% death rate…..it seems so high,
and I tell myself that maybe all the positive recovery cases just haven’t
resolved yet. But maybe that isn't the case, maybe
it will go higher. The first time I saw
it, it was only at 9%.
Life is different for the foreseeable
future, maybe forever. I’ve mourned for
lives lost this week. I cried as Italy’s
Prime Minister exclaimed, “We have lost it on Earth, we now seek mercy from the
skies.” His pain of what felt like losing a nation with over 2000 deaths in
just four days was gut wrenching. And there
can be fear in the possibility of it happening here, to those around us, our
loved ones or ourselves.
What is there to do?
In the US, we bought toilet
paper. It seems so logical, right? As I received toilet paper memes and pictures
from my family out in the pacific northwest I knew it was coming my direction
to Iowa. I was prepared and stocked on
toilet paper luckily.
The loss of readily available toilet
paper was quickly followed by some medications, bread, eggs….those all made a
little more sense to me.
When school closures came and
people worked from home the need for toilet paper shifted to a need for larger
food quantities. People had to work from
home which meant more food at home. Job
losses came and financial worries became even more pressing.
Yet for some reason, we still
check for toilet paper when at the store.
Just to be prepared. Perhaps we
will tell ourselves that the world is normalizing if we see it in stock.
My friends….it is as if the whole
world realized all at once that we and our loved ones will someday die, yet
this is the one sure thing here on this earth.
Death is real. Yet we clutch that
toilet paper tightly to prepare ourselves for hunkering down or getting
sick. We lock our vulnerable people, parents
and grandparents up (rightly so at this point in time!). We stay inside to flatten the curve of this
disease and hopefully hinder the spread of it.
It may be that this issue of
toilet paper is relatable….the need for toilet paper crosses all spans of our
country; from the rich, poor, celebrities, blue collar workers, children…..everyone
needs toilet paper.
As we slowly march forward in
these new life restrictions, fears and limited gatherings; one thing I have
watched in fascination has been how people respond and have looked for ways to
continue developing a sense of community.
My town is doing a “heart hunters”
for kids. People are hanging hearts and
teddy bears up in windows for kids to search for as they walk. Friends honk their car horns as they drive
by, reminding me that they are around.
Communities have turned to online
venues for connection. Churches have
changed in person gatherings to online platforms to stay connected and
encourage one another. We still need these connections.
This nasty virus, COVID-19, is a term
no one knew months ago yet now we can’t get away from it and it’s impacts to life.
It’s highly infectious and you may not even know you have it they say. I wish it wasn’t real. I wish it were an overexaggerated scenario
that in the end we are told, “oh oops, good job at staying indoors for a few
weeks, it’s really just nothing,” but I don’t get the vibe that it is heading
that direction.
So, what do we do when we approach
the unknown, uncertainty, of sickness of loved ones and thoughts of death? We buy toilet paper.
I have a confession that may be
offensive. As I’ve mourned this past week,
as I’ve taken precautions to stay in and follow CDC guidances, as I’ve hoped
for positive outcomes and selfishly to have no one I know personally impacted
by this tragedy, as I’ve prayed……I’ve been at peace. Not a peace of knowing bad things won’t
happen…they will…but a peace in what really matters in the depths of life and
death.
Maybe I can excuse this peace
away by saying, “I don’t have kids to worry about who I am locked in with,” or
that “I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home for now,” or “I have food and know how to cook random
things that will last awhile,” or that “I have toilet paper.” That’s not where the peace comes from though.
As Easter approaches, where we
celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, I can’t help but ponder at
the ultimate peace and life He has given us.
There are multiple emotions with
peace. There can still be mourning
within peace. There can still be
sadness. If restrictions continue, we
may just all be huddled around screens this upcoming Easter. No fun Easter dresses to celebrate the
resurrection, no potluck breakfast gatherings, no hugs, no in person community gatherings.
As this makes me completely and utterly sad, there is also a peace in knowing
that Easter was never about the dresses and potlucks to begin with. But a celebration of life and of restoration.
My world view is such that I
already believe this world is infected.
Even though it was created perfectly, it was infected by sin and we were
separated from God. We could never be in the presence of a holy God with this sin
we are infected by. And as much as we try, there is nothing we can do in and of
ourselves to cure this.
We try to be good, to make a
difference, to try and do things on our own.
But we can’t. These things are
just as useful as us clutching toilet paper to solve a pandemic.
Useless. I wonder if God looks at us sometimes in our
good works and just thinks…..”they’ve lost it again, those toilet paper
clutchers.”
My peace comes from already
knowing the end.
See, my world view also tells of
a God who wants a relationship with people, and who’s son paid a price that we
could not pay on our own. He lived the perfect
life that we could not, without sin. He conquered
death and restored relationships with God through him.
It's already been completed; giving us a life beyond these temporal matters of toilet paper, sickness,
disease and loss. Giving us a life of
peace and assured future as Jesus has already conquered the ultimate issue of
sin and eternal death.
Are good works needed? Not to God, but yes we need them. Our neighbors and family need them. God also created us to be in community.
I have found little things to smile
at in life lately. Just yesterday, a
little neighbor boy was furiously riding his toy tractor in his driveway. The tractor sent bubbles spilling out as he
peddled. I’d never seen a bubble tractor
before. He’d peddle faster and faster to
make more bubbles. They filled the entire
street and went at least forty feet up in the air creating a beautiful wall of peaceful
bubbles that surrounded his giggles. I
don’t think he was worried about the toilet paper in that instance.
I miss people. I miss community. I mourn for things I had just weeks ago. But
there are also things that have come from this time that I have been loving and
at peace with. Perhaps they have been glimpses
of God peeling toilet paper out of my clutched hands and reminding me that He
is the real answer to the much bigger life issue.
I know it’s cheesy, but I hope
that during this time I can be a bubble maker instead of a toilet paper clutcher. Resting in the peace that in the end; God is stronger
no matter the results.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Psalm 17:13-14
13 I remain confident of this:I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord
