It all started with an PA announcement at 2:39pm – the end of the school day, Thursday, March 12th – that said, “Students, be sure to take your chromebooks and your chargers home today.” Someone in admin had an inkling that the Governor was going to shut down schools – ya’ know, two weeks to flatten the curve. Teachers came in on the 13th anxious about what this meant for our students, for our families, for our lives. After seeing the news from China, Italy, and Spain, we dreaded that this was about to be bigger than we could’ve imagined. And it was.
Toilet paper instantly became scarce. Schools became ghost towns. Businesses were impacted in an instant. Churches moved online. Community became isolated.
Earlier that week we (teachers) had joked that this weekend was Friday the 13th, time change, and a full moon. Coronavirus couldn’t scare us. HA!
Universities began to send students home. My daughter’s university was one of the last ones to close. She was having a GREAT school year, with new friends and spiritual growth. She was not happy about returning home early. Chalk up another disappointment.
By that point we were making plans for our foreign-exchange student, Mari, to return to Japan, 2 months early.
It was hard. It was heavy. It was stressful.
Two weeks became two months. With a little reprieve in the summer, fears only mounted that the fall and winter would be even worse.
We navigated, as so many did, one graduating high school and one getting married, never knowing what the following week would bring, let alone the following month. We endured the abrupt ending of a job – a passion, a career, income. We grappled through emotions and relationships.
We complied with all the “new normals” even when things didn’t make sense. Some things still don’t make sense.
Of course, what would a Global Pandemic be without a crazy national election year and racial division? The news was weighty. Narratives were pushed and others were silenced. You had (have) to go through an escape room to find an inkling of truth. And with time on our hands and nothing else to do but assume, react, and disseminate – tensions escalated, ravines built, bridges burned. The ramifications will have detrimental long-term effects, like some that have suffered through the virus.
Some new normals are here to stay. Division, corruption, power, skepticism, wariness. Maybe they’re not new… but awareness is newly heightened. There are new fears. New worries. New frustrations.
A routine health exam revealed that although anxiety is not something I deal with, my physical body had taken the brunt of the past year. So, with the one year anniversary of all heck breaking loose coming up and a couple of weeks to reflect on its effects on me personally, I’m processing through 2020-2021. Aren’t we all?
The grief. The loss. The struggle.
I pushed through. Many of us did (are). Medical heroes. Essential Heroes. Educators. All of us. There are people that count on us to keep going, to lead, to encourage. For me it’s a calling and a privilege. However, it’s not without effect, repercussion, and aftermath. So, now it’s time to deal.
Sure, there’s some (a lot if you look for it) good from this past year. Slowing down. Family time. Intentional connection. Becoming aware of weaknesses, deficits, entrapments. Being cognizant of priorities, commitments, ambitions.
There’s also been a lot of trauma. Trauma from loss. Trauma from disappointments. Trauma from the continual unknown. Trauma from the “new normal.” This weekend (@ IF:Gathering) a mental health professional shared that naming IT starts the path to healing. What loss have you experienced? Artist, David Rees, epitomized 2020 with his song “dos mil veinte” (twenty twenty). I turned this song into a lesson plan for one of my classes and it was a good time of reflection and awareness.
I could not have gotten through this year without my amazing family, my “Corona Puppy” and other pups, great friends, and most of all my faithful God and Savior Jesus Christ. Joni Eareckson Tada reminded me this weekend that even this year, “The Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (2 Tim. 4:17). He really did. Every day. With each new announcement. With each new change. With each new challenge. Paul also wrote that, “Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16).
Jesus has been and continues to be the anchor for my soul. Those of us who have surrendered our lives to God can hold on to this HOPE in Him. I hope for whoever reading this also has that hope. Scripture reminds us that, “‘Though the mountains move and the hills shake (ahem – 2020), My love will not be removed from you and My covenant of peace will not be shaken’, says your compassionate Lord” (Isaiah 54:10). And Hebrews 6:19 affirms that “we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold on to the HOPE that lies before us. This HOPE is a strong and trustworthy ANCHOR for our souls.” This hope, this peace is found in Jesus. No matter who is president. No matter what variant threatens. No matter what is taken away. No matter what… (fill in the blank). Job, from the Bible, had everyone and everything that meant anything to him taken from him and yet he said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).
I pray that my heart stays anchored in the HOPE that I have in Jesus, that even if mountains fall and the earth shakes – like all we’ve lived through this past year – that I will focus on, worship, and bless the Name of the Lord. My Strong Tower. My Refuge. My Hope. I pray that for you too.
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow” (James 1:2-4). No matter how well we handled this year or how this year handled us, I’m confident we have all grown. The sun is rising on the horizon and a new day is coming.
“Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying” (Rom. 12:12).
The Grub Hub 