Gratitude in a Pandemic

Our life has changed fairly drastically in the last three weeks, and I feel the need to document this change for posterity. In case you have been living under a rock, we are currently in the throes of a global pandemic. Coronavirus/Covid-19 has spread to the four corners of the earth and countries are doing their best to curb the spread, flatten the curve, and protect the economy. It is a worldwide mess.

Here in Wisconsin we’ve been under a stay-at-home order for two and a half weeks now. Non-essential businesses are all closed, we are supposed to stay home as much as possible, and it’s recommended that we wear face masks in public. Social distancing is the name of the game, so if you have indeed been living under a rock, you’re doing the right thing. Head on back under that rock and don’t come out unless you’re wearing a face mask!

How is this affecting our family personally? We can’t go to the library or to church anymore. We can’t go to the zoo, or the museum, or the botanical gardens. We miss seeing our friends every Sunday and Wednesday and having play dates outside as the weather warms. We miss our out-of-state parents/grandparents and wonder when we’ll be able to visit them again. Daddy is working from home most days. I can’t take the children to the grocery store with me anymore, and trips there by myself are much more stressful than they used to be. Don’t touch your face, keep your gloves on, try not to touch your phone, sanitize your hands when you get back in the car. Stay at least six feet away from the other shoppers. Wipe down the groceries with disinfectant wipes when you get home. Wash your hands, and then wash them again.

There’s a lot of anxiety in the world right now. We worry about how many people will get sick, and then how many of them will die. We worry about how badly this will hurt the economy and how long it will take to recover. Will it even recover? There are enough worst-case-scenario hypotheses floating around to shake even the staunchest optimist.

And yet… though the world may be turned upside down, I am starting to notice the things that haven’t changed and all that we still have to be thankful for. Gratitude is worth cultivating at any time, but especially at a time like this!

Here’s the start of my own gratitude list:

– God has not changed. He still knows the future; we still don’t. I mean, have we ever really known what the future would hold? We may have been lulled into a sense of control and security by the prosperous country we live in, but the future has always been uncertain. Our lives have always been out of our control in some sense; what has changed now is that we are finally realizing it.

– Our family is still healthy and still together. Obviously this could change, but each day of health is a gift from God and I’m trying to view it as such. I love being with my children and husband, and we get to have so much good family time right now! I am grateful.

– Our children still play, bicker, love, explore, argue, and create – just like every other day. We’ve explained to them just a little of what is going on – why we can’t go to church, or the library, or have friends over to play – but none of them are old enough to be afraid. I am thankful for their innocence and exuberance and the joy they bring us each day.

– The weather’s getting warmer and the woods are not closed! Granted, they’ve been quite a bit busier than I’ve ever seen them during the week before… but I’m so glad that we can still get outside for walks, playtime in the woods, hikes on trails, and exploring new parks. Fresh air is so refreshing for mind and body alike.

– We’re used to spending lots of time at home, and we like being home. I truly feel for families whose kids are suddenly pulled out of school and whose daily routines have been upended. Compared to most, our schedules have changed very little! We are trucking along with school as usual and I’m thankful for the comfort of a familiar routine.

– Daddy still has a job, and we live in a place where we don’t worry about actually running out of food. I fear for the poor countries of the world and even areas of our own country where the virus will be much more devastating that it is here.

I don’t know how this will end. I don’t know if this will end! But I do know that God cares for us even more than we care for our little ones; all we can do is take each day as it comes and trust Him for the grace and strength we need.

“My heart is filled with thankfulness

To him to walks beside;

Who floods my weaknesses with strength

And causes fears to fly;

Whose every promise is enough

For every step I take,

Sustaining me with arms of love

And crowning me with grace.”

Originally written April 8 2020