New Beginnings

April 6, 2020

Fear is a great motivator. In the last twenty-four hours, 87 people responded to my announcement that I wouldn’t be writing much due to a bout with the flu. I suspect people were afraid I’d contracted COVID 19; I must admit, I wondered about that myself, even while doubting that was the case. I’m not entirely over it, but am much better this evening, and thank you all for your concern and prayers. My mind still isn’t working well enough to write anything of substance, so I won’t even try, other than to ask the question: “What might God be doing through this coronavirus? We are so enslaved to our routines that we haven’t even been able to imagine a different kind of life. And yet, here we are, experiencing a seismic change in our habits and lifestyles. Maybe in some ways, this is God’s gift to us, leading us into freedom from those routines that occupied our lives. 

I listened to a rabbi who reminded us that Israel was thrust out of Egypt. They didn’t ask for it, didn’t really want it, but had no choice. And they grumbled all the way to freedom. Maybe God is forcing us from our worship of jobs, sports, dinners out, and calling us to connect—to really connect with our families, by showing us through forced isolation how important our connections with one another are. I could be wrong here, but it’s better to see this as an opportunity than an obstacle. A new day is dawning, and I want to be a part of it, but it’s only possible if we let go of the chains that bind us to the reality we know. I know this: at first, I complained and grieved all we had planned that will not be. I’m beginning to see what might be, and be better, than what I expected.