Tag Archives: coronavirus

Day 28

08 Wednesday Apr 2020

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I sat outside for a while this morning. Just in silence. Thanking. Praying. Planning. Trying to let my mind go black. Trying to listen. In case I was missing something. But you know when you sit outside the silence isn’t really silent. My wind chime plays its own low ringing melody. The trees whisper in the breeze. The squirrels yell at each other. Presumably because they are hogging the good nuts. And the birds. The birds. They are SO loud today. Screeching and singing and calling to one another. Not a care in the world these birds. They are just so happy to be alive on this beautiful sunny day. And then that’s where my mind went. These birds don’t worry about anything. They aren’t worried about getting the Corona. They aren’t worried that their loved ones might get sick. They aren’t worried that they could be putting their lives in danger every time they go to the grocery store. They aren’t worried that they can’t give their friends a hug. Or that the people they love are so far away.

They

Arent

Worried

About

Anything

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Luke 12:24 …Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not Abe to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?

Maybe it’s not profound. Maybe it won’t impact you as it has impacted me. But the world is crazy right now. It is scary. And a lot of us are all alone. We are separated from our communities, our loved ones, our friends… And in this aloneness, it is so easy to be scared. To over think. But go outside. Listen to the birds sing. They aren’t worried. And you…you are more valuable to God than a bird. He’s got this whole big crazy thing under control. Even if we can’t see it. He is working in this silence. Lean into the silence. Lean into the stillness. And listen.

Listen to the birds.

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it’s the world gone crazy

15 Sunday Mar 2020

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If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds. C. S. Lewis

Coronavirus has brought the world to a standstill. People are hiding in their homes.  Panic buying. The toilet paper is gone. Shelves are cleared in supermarkets. People are waiting hours in lines. Major League sports have cancelled or postponed their seasons. Around the world gatherings are being cancelled. Churches are putting services online. People are scared to go out of their houses. I have never washed my hands so much, used so much hand sanitizer, or wiped surfaces multiple times daily with disinfectant wipes.

I am really struggling with how to respond to all of this. I have never experienced a global pandemic. I have been in Texas with my aunt & uncle since the beginning of February. I am away far away from my home and my family. Things are so uncertain. Will I be able to get home to Asheville when it is time for me to go home? Will I even be able to cross state lines? Will I be stuck in Texas forever? (GASP THE HORROR) It feels so unsettling to not be at one’s home. Near one’s family, but, I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I know God put me here because my Aunt and Uncle are going to need my help, and I am happy to be where I am supposed to be.

But I am a little scared. I am a little worried. Where do you even turn during this. How do you survive a global pandemic? How do you keep two little kids home from school for weeks and entertain them and make sure they don’t spend 100% of their time playing video games? Will people that I love get sick? Will people that I love die?

It is my natural tendency to panic. Not outwardly panic. Google panic. I research everything. I have been checking news updates obsessively. I read one thing and think oh good it won’t be that bad, I read another and think omg we’re all going to die. I walk around the house with disinfectant wipes. I diffuse something random as if it is going to save us…

I read facts and statistics… Ebola killed 11,315 people, Spanish Flu 20-50 MILLION, The Black Death 75-200 MILLION…. surely it won’t be that bad. And the world survived those things… And they didn’t have modern medicine…

I know I need to fall on my knees and pray. PRAY. I know there is NOTHING else I can do. I know that no matter the spread of this virus, God is 100% in control. Take a deep breath Gina. God brought me through a terrorist attack. I thought I was going to die then. And I had such peace about it. What makes this any different? I had time to think about it and prepare for it and stock pile toilet paper (no I didn’t do that really)… But that doesn’t mean God is any less in control.

If corona is coming for us lets do more of these things. Let’s love more and do more good and make more memories. Let’s spend quality time (over FaceTime) Finish that project you’ve been putting off. Write that book you’ve been wanting to write (that’s for me too) Clean that closet you never look at… Read to your kids. Make some amazing memories. If corona is coming let us be THRIVING — “not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs.” [or coronavirus]

God’s got us. We are alive. Right now.

There’s still time for LOVE.

There’s still time for relationships.

There’s still time for HOPE.

Stay safe out there ❤