COVID-19 Thought Journal | May 7, 2020

Photo from Easter morning, social distance worship service in our worship pastor's yard.

I waiver back-and-forth between wanting to abide by orders and guidance our government officials have established, and feelings of all-out rebellion.  I worry about my 95-year old grandma getting the virus and want to prevent it, but I also think we could establish guidance for protecting the most vulnerable and let the rest of us get on with semi-normal activities and job operations.  Perhaps if the media wasn't such a ragout of partisan opinions and knee-jerk reactions, I'd know how to feel.  Instead, I don't really consume the news unless it is in bite-size chunks.
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Businesses must have some kind of liability shield or protection from litigation if they are allowed to reopen.  Congress must pass this.  Unfortunately, our politicians are so focused on not letting the other side win that they can't see the logic in this.  Require business establish an infectious disease risk management plan, and then afford them liability protection if they do so.  Otherwise, the threat of lawsuits is too burdensome for organizations to even judiciously re-open.
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I have a prayer list.  I've struggled with prayer most of my life, where I can't seem to regularly get into a rhythm or the right state of mind when I pray alone.  One way I've tried to combat this is by keeping a prayer list.  I put the prayers into basic categories: world, friends, family, marriage, work, church and city.  I edit and add to the lists on an ongoing basis.  Not a perfect formula, but one that helps keep me focused.

When a prayer is "answered" I drop it down the list into that sub-category.  World prayers don't get answered often.  For example, I pray that God eliminates terrorism and mass killings.  I pray that genocide and sex-trafficking are destroyed. I pray for all exiles and refugees around the globe, that they find a real home where they can flourish. Pretty big prayers, right?

Well, recently I added one "World" prayer to the answered prayer list.  I don't know how long I've been praying for this one.  Could be months or years.  The answered prayer was: "Help us globally as we deal with the epidemic of distraction."  How many distractions have been eliminated from our lives?  We've de-cluttered our scheduled.  We find enjoyment in things we completely overlooked before. We are connecting in creative ways.  We've gotten to know ourselves and one another better.

Like most answered prayers - not how I would have done it.  But thankfully for humanity, I am not God.
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I have to reach out to those isolated and alone.  This has to be so hard. I'm hearing lots of praise for working from home.  For those that have families or people at home with them, maybe it wouldn't be so great if you were in your house alone?  Getting back to that office might seem a lot more appealing to some.