I told Ed yesterday, “We now have the green light to travel within our province of British Columbia if we practice social distancing as we roam about.” It is good news as many want to get away from being stuck in their own home and community.
Ed suggested folks would like to get away from the pandemic altogether, but that won’t come soon enough for anyone. He believes staying home is still a good idea, as traveling may put a person at risk. Ed says the virus is sneaky and lays low only to surge up to claim more lives. As soon as we relax, the virus comes back to threaten and attack as many as possible. He feels golfing, as it is outdoors and players can social distance easily, is a safe exception to staying home. Ed told me if he were my age, he would stay home since I already have one foot in the grave. I told Ed everybody lives in the shadow of death regardless of their age.
I admit I’m tired and burdened with the total uncertainty that the virus has caused. No matter where you travel even around the world, you cannot get away from yourself. Likewise, there is nowhere you can go in the world to escape the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us are tired of restrictions. We are humbled by the virus and forced to admit COVID-19 has the upper hand over us, for now.
It is hard to ignore the stronghold of COVID-19. Children are often good at disregarding things that restrict them. They can accept circumstances much more readily than adults. They often experience situations at school or at home that they must face and still get on with their lives. Even when they do not like parental rules, they trust that their parents know better than themselves. Children tend not to worry about situations.
As adults, we feel we need to control, change, manage or leave situations. We do not humbly think circumstances can turn out OK when they are beyond our control or threaten us. If we cannot fix a situation, we want someone else to be able to change it. We often worry about our lives, especially about what could happen to us like dying of COVID-19 or cancer. There is no limit to what we worry about, like jobs, income, bills, health, house, insurance and more.
For sure, the pandemic has attacked our sense of security. We treasure the feeling that we are safe, our future secure and that our death is out of sight and mind. Jesus told his disciples, “Do not worry about your life.”
We know that worry is a dead-end activity, but we do not want to leave our life to the care and direction of our God. Who of us can add a single hour to his or her life by worrying? Our Father knows what we need. It is God’s good pleasure to give us what we need. God is ready to take good care of us. Jesus invites, “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest … rest for your souls.”
