Lessons for a Timeless Time
Someday people will write novels set during the Great Covid-19 Pandemic (though it might be called something different by then). There will be quiet diaries of quarantined people sliding into insanity and action-packed epics jumping from overcrowded ERs to the halls of power. Maybe there will even be some gallows humor from the grocery store clerk asking, “What do you do when you have no good choices?” Right now, there are no obvious right choices, only trade-offs. Here in America, I’ve heard us described as “the sick, the scared, and the...
read moreOver and Over
I find it interesting that of all the books of the Bible and of all the topics Mark could have planned out, months ago (long before coronavirus was known to us), he prayed and discerned that this Easter season the focus would be on the parables of Jesus. It is easy to cruise through them, as many of us have heard them multiple times. I myself have read them over and over to my children—sometimes, I admit, with impatience, as I struggle to explain the metaphors. However, the parable that often sticks with me (and coincidentally was on my heart...
read moreNew Wineskins for a Pandemic
No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, “The old is good enough.” (Luke 5:37-38, Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 NASB) At 9:15am, every Tuesday for the past three weeks, the doorbell rang. Each time, I ran to the door with a smile on my face. There were two paper grocery bags full of groceries on the doormat. A few feet away, on the first...
read morePersevering in Hope
“[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:7-8 NIV) Aren’t you tired of talking about it yet? Like most of us who are stuck at home in these pandemic times, I’ve been doing a lot more virtual meetings. I’ve had writers critique groups, Bible studies, and happy hours over now-ubiquitous video chat platforms. In one of the latter, we congratulated ourselves after realizing we had talked for ten whole minutes without mentioning coronavirus! But really, there’s little else to talk about. Most of us...
read moreFinding Freedom in Life’s Compromises
We are currently living under difficult circumstances. In the effort to control COVID-19, we are forced to do almost everything from home, where many of us can easily feel like prisoners. With limited time outdoors, interaction with friends only through a screen or telephone, and down or alone time little to nonexistent, it can seem like most if not all our freedom has been taken away. But this is more of a perception than reality. Yes, distance and isolation are currently necessary to minimize the risk of ourselves or others getting sick,...
read moreEverlasting Words
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35 NIV) I never thought my introductory years to nursing would involve a pandemic of this scale. I was a hospital volunteer during SARS and worked in hospitals during MERS, but I think we can all agree that this time, it’s very different. We might show a brave face, but in the pockets of conversations between HCWs (health care workers), there is fear of the unknown, anxiety, anger at the situation (especially the lack of PPE and poor planning overall), and...
read moreA Question of When
Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. (Jeremiah 29:5-7 NIV) This past Friday was Sarah’s and my 10-year wedding anniversary, and we had planned a nice trip, with both...
read morePeace and Purpose
If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. (Psalm 139:8 NIV) As an extrovert, a mother, and someone who usually works from home, these last few weeks have been a very bizarre experience. My workdays haven’t changed… except there are so many more people in the house. I’m tired of being around my family, but I’m lonely for conversation (especially on any topic that’s not the coronavirus pandemic). Sometimes I feel like Psalm 139:8 above, rather than reassuring me of God’s constant care, describes me...
read moreMy Last Day With Dad
I’ll fly away, oh glory, I’ll fly away. When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away. Beloved brothers and sisters, you have journeyed with me for a few years as my parents aged and grew more precious with each passing year. Thank you! Now Daddy has passed on, and I’d like to share a few things I’m grateful for. I am grateful for the many hours I spent with Daddy during the final weeks. It was so hard for him to breathe or to talk, but he still smiled, murmured yes or no, gave out a few words. He squeezed my hand, he smiled and said, “I...
read moreA Light in the Darkness
To say this past week has felt a bit surreal may be an understatement for a lot of us. I just ended a phone call with a friend after hearing King County’s recent proclamation regarding all things coronavirus. I was cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear so that I could assist my four year old down from a tree (it was raining, I was in slippers), when I exclaimed to her, “I just needed a lifeline to the outside world—this is madness!” I often feel this way as a stay-at-home mom, yet I’m under no pretense that these feelings of...
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