2020 Pandemic

When the New Year arrived, many people in the media began to use a phrase that started out as clever and quickly became annoying. I wish I had a dollar for every time one of them said, "This is 2020." It is indeed a catchy phrase, drawing up memories of a popular news show; but, at this point in the year, most people will only remember 2020 for one thing: the COVID-19 pandemic.

As I write this, we are in the midst of the global pandemic, COVID-19. In a few short months, we have added several unusual words and phrases to our normal, every day vocabulary: pandemic, social distancing, shelter in place, essential and non-essential personnel, flatten the curve, distance learning, self-quarantine, self-isolation, and so many more! All of them, most certainly used on a daily basis. What it boils down to is this: there is a form of the Coronovirus that has spread world wide, taken countless lives, and created total upheaval in family lives, businesses, schools, governments, and medical communities.  There is no cure; and it is particularly devastating to senior citizens and people who have underlying health conditions. In short, it has impacted every member of society through out the world. Even as I type those words, it seems unbelievable.

At this time, to the best of my knowledge, no one in my immediate or extended family has contracted the disease. I believe those most at risk at this time are my hubby, who has numerous underlying health conditions, my son Scott, who is a fire fighter; my daughter Rebecca, who works in admissions at a local hospital; my niece, Alisha, who is an ER nurse; my sister-in-law, Ruth, who is a nurse at a nursing home; my nephew, Kyle, who is a deputy sheriff; my nephew, Jason, who is active duty military; and my brother, David, who is still considered essential personnel at Ft. Riley, Kansas.  To the best of my knowledge, every other member of my family is working from home or on furlough from their jobs. Therefore, their limited contact with others (social distancing) is helping to keep them safe. It is my daily prayer that they all remain safe.

Everyone is encouraged to shelter in place, not gather in groups larger than 10, schools and universities are closed with online learning only, church services have been canceled, most businesses are closed unless they perform a vital community service, restaurants only provide take out or delivery services, doctor's appointments are on the phone or online if they aren't for life threatening issues, dentists and vets are only providing emergency services, grocery stores and other retail stores that remain open are on shortened schedules, shelves are starting to get bare, people are having a difficult time finding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, paper towels, and cleaning supplies; and, anyone who can sew is cranking out face masks like crazy. Which leads to a shortage of 1/4 in elastic!! It is like NOTHING anyone has ever experienced.

The mask making endeavor depleted my supply of elastic. Scott managed to find this roll online!

When this insanity will end is anyone's guess. The longer it goes on, society and government leaders have great concerns about a complete collapse of our economy, families going without food and other essentials, the frailty of health compromised individuals like our older population and those battling cancer or other life threatening diseases, the toll on our health care professionals and first responders, and how to simply control this disease. That leads to a shortage of testing materials and medical supplies. All of these are things no one would have ever dreamed would be issues in our country.

My first batch of masks went to Alisha and her ER in Oregon.

But, in the midst of all the confusion and insanity, there are rays of hope, love, and goodness. People are spending more time with families at home. Citizens are reaching out to help those around them that are in dire circumstances. Factories are being reconfigured to produce much needed medical supplies. Financial institutes are trying to provide grace periods for loan repayments. Bartering is starting to take place. Religious leaders are ramping up their compassionate and humanitarian efforts. Government leaders are becoming more inclined to work across party lines. In general, people that are out in public are more considerate and kind to one another.  At this point, the true goodness, kindness, and resourcefulness in people is winning the war over pettiness, selfishness and hopelessness.

The second batch of masks ended up being made with Scott's parachute cord, when my elastic ran out. These went to the men at church who are making home visits to check on members. 

As for myself, I am not worried or concerned about the long range outcome. Why? Because I recognize the hand of God in all things.  As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I believe our church is lead by a man who receives personal revelation from God. Our church has been one step ahead of every government or civic leader all along the way.  Our leaders have counseled members store food and other provisions for generations. Our leaders have counseled us to be financially sound by having little debt and adequate savings in place. We have been counseled to grow our own food, maintain livestock when possible, and be prepared to live on what we have for a minimum of 3 months; preferably a year. And this is all counsel we have received since the establishment of our church 200 years ago.

We've been blessed to have space to raise chickens and now a couple of small garden plots. If they do well, I'll add to them this fall.

And now, church leaders continue to be one step ahead of government leaders. We have church welfare farms that grow and supply food to starving people  throughout the world. There is a program called The Bishop's Storehouse that provides food and other staples for needy members. Our leaders send service missionaries throughout the world to train and help individuals to become self-sufficient. And, having a missionary force as large as we do, throughout the world, gives all members a glimpse of what is coming; a sort of first alert or early warning. Let me explain. Any time our leaders pull missionaries out of a country or area, it is because they have had the inspiration to do so.  Our missionaries in the countries that were first hit with COVID-19, were told to shelter in place many weeks before those government leaders told their citizens to do so.  Our missionaries were pulled from those countries before they instituted shelter in place or travel restrictions were implemented.  Our church leaders were the first to cancel weekly religious gatherings.  Everywhere along the way, our church has been one step ahead of all government leaders.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, this will all pass because our church leaders have told us so. How can I doubt that after seeing how much foresight they have had all along the way?

We are His hands. I love the new logo for our church. This is how I see our Savior; reaching out to embrace us all. 

So, I close this post knowing that all will be well... in time.  In the Lord's time. I will try hard to not complain about not seeing my family. I will continue to share what we have with others that we see in need. I will continue to find ways to serve others, even if sewing masks is mind numbingly boring. And I will continue to call upon the powers of Heaven for peace and healing. This is the only thing that keeps this entire experience from feeling like a really bad science fiction movie!