Good morning…
As I wake on Day #7, still self-quarantining in our basement, I think, “And this type of COVID testing was designed to produce results in two days.” We easily got a testing appointment with our doctor friend last Thursday, we waited in line for about thirty minutes to experience the uncomfortable procedure, and we were told these two day tests are now taking five to seven days to process, backlogged by such high demand.
Two-day test results, if they had come back negative, would have allowed me to enjoy a barbecue with our family for the 4th of July, watching fireworks from a nearby high point. Instead, I soaked in silence, solitude, and a homemade salad left on the top basement step before our family left together for the evening (see our post I Am Shut In).
Placing my cup of coffee on the top step this morning, our daughter said, “Mom, what if you don’t have COVID and you have been sitting in our basement alone all week?”
My resolve is clear, my intention is set, my answer is simple: “It’s worth it for Grandma.” We know we must be Corona-free if we are going to see my 89-year-old mother-in-law who is craving a visit. The long wait is worth it for me, because the alternative is possibly infecting someone I love dearly, someone who might die from my impatience.
Why am I musing about the question, “Are We Being Tested?” Because I sense we are each being tested in similar ways right now.
- Physically, tangibly we as a community are struggling to be tested and to receive timely COVID results when we come down with symptoms of sickness (whether it is a cold, a flu bug, allergies, or COVID-19, we cannot initially know). As fall rolls around and common germs spread, my sense is that many of us will just say, “Screw it, it’s too hard to get tested, and the results take too long.” We will quickly enter back into our regular activities when we start feeling better, with the quiet possibility of COVID still in our bodies, and we will continue to spread this coronavirus wildfire.
- Emotionally, we are wondering, “How long will this threat last, and what will be the long term effects of our collective grief, our emotional instability, and the economic damage to our families, our businesses, our old institutions?” “When will any type of new normal form up around us?” “Mask wearing, social distancing, no hugs and no smiles exchanged, when will enough be enough?”
- Spiritually, God, Your living Word says: But now…listen to the Lord who created you…the one who formed you says, “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One…your Savior (Isaiah 43:1-3, NLT). But, God, we know people drown in deep waters, we know the death toll continues to rise from coronavirus, and we know the fire of oppression burns, scars, and kills too many in our communities. How does our faith deepen down when Your protective promises are being tested?
- Relationally, we will all need to ask ourselves, day by day, “Is it worth it to me to risk infection, for myself or my loved ones, possibly spreading this invisible virus to people most vulnerable in our community?”
Here is where a chart sent by a friend comes in really handy. As we try to reopen our daily lives, we each need to make one choice at a time, deciding how much risk we are willing to take on for ourselves, our loved ones, and the most vulnerable in our midst.
As we prayerfully assess our own personal circumstances, day after day, we will be guided by the One True God who calls us by name and stays with us in our current pain. Patience, patience, patience is a virtue, as we test with our toes the murky waters around us.
…Sue…
