It was Sunday, March 15, 2020, when the world changed forever, and I wasn't even home. In fact, I was enjoying the beautiful land of Nicaragua. Messages started pouring into the little mission house where my sister and I were visiting. Church cancelled. School called off. Toilet paper sold out. Groceries hard to find. We couldn't believe it. Was this our beloved home country? It sounded surreal. Only a couple days before we had laughed at the woman on the plane wearing gloves and a face mask who sanitized her seatback tray and arm rests.
Our visit passed quickly. As we prepared to head home to the land of our birth, we started getting messages about the cancellation of flights, difficulties getting into or out of countries, state lines patrolled by police, and enforced quarantines once safely on our native sod.
We returned to a changed America. Fear hung heavy in the airports. The interstates were empty. Signs everywhere reminded one of the importance of hand washing. At one point we approached an overpass where a lone figure stood, stoically holding the Stars and Stripes. His way, I imagine, of reminding everyone to stand together.
That is what I love about Covid. The solidarity. The standing together. I know there has been a lot said about the negative parts of Covid, and I know the negatives are real, but for just one moment here I want to look for the silver lining.
I want to remember the school board members that spent time coaching us through remote teaching. I want to remember the Cool Whip container of leftovers deposited on our porch while we social distanced. I want to remember the friend who said, "I'm not afraid of you!" and sat on our swing for half an hour and chatted. I mustn't forget the other friend who dropped off some firewood so we could enjoy a cozy blaze in the evenings.
I want the special feeling we got driving around the neighborhood going on a Bear Hunt. Just knowing that so many people were trying to cheer up others was a wonderful boost to the morale! I want to remember the way folks held drive ins for donuts, ice cream, and engagements. I want the same enthusiasm with which we listened to songs and services that were called out, truly seeking food for our souls in the sudden uncertainties with which we were surrounded. I want to remember those who spent hours reading books for people to listen to, mailing cards to the residents in care homes, and sending stickers to children missing kindergarten.
No, I don't want Covid to settle on us like a pall as it did in the early days two years ago, but I do want the same love and care for one another. I want the feeling of being one big family. Of pulling together. Of sharing in one another's pain and grief. Of looking for ways to cheer someone else's days.
It was easy to work together when we saw the common enemy. It was easy to give of ourselves when we lived not knowing what would happen from one day to the next. It was easy to communicate our love for others when we didn't know how much longer we would have them to love.
As Christians, we are in a similar situation every day, but it's so easy to forget, to brush it off, to become complacent. We need to raise the bloodstained banner of Jesus high, we need to reach out to one another and communicate our love through words and actions. We need to give of ourselves, share our struggles, maybe try things we have never done before in order to keep up the morale of the Army of Christ.
Life has returned to a new normal for most of us. As we go about our busy schedules, it's easy to forget to think of others. Sometimes it seems life is so comfortable we even forget we are in the midst of a terrible and deadly war. We become slack, careless, selfish. We tend to think there will be a tomorrow in which to say, "I love you," or to meet a friend at a coffee shop.
Let's take the bright side of Covid and turn it into a lesson. Remember to fight every day for the right, to reach out to those who have not yet joined the Army marching under the cross of Christ, to stand together, a force united in the love of God, waiting until the pandemic of sin is over and we can rest together in the beautiful land of Heaven.
During the pandemic, I posted a status on WhatsApp promising to write poems for the first fifteen people who sent me their address and a topic. I received nearly fifty responses before I removed the status! There were some great topic suggestions, some of which were quite a challenge.
You can see the topics of the first fifteen responses below in the order in which they came in. I had a lot of fun writing these poems, (even if they took me far too long to finish due to some procrastination!) and although I was not able to write for everyone that replied, I want to share these poems with you now. The links below will take you to a new blog that I am launching, Schoolmarm on Break.
There, you will find all 19 of these "Covid Poems." For those of you who received the originals, you may notice a few changes have been made, hopefully to improve the ease of reading. In the future I plan to use Schoolmarm on Break for writing endeavors which are somewhat less devotional than those found on A Schoolmarm's Musings.
And the four people that were not in the first fifteen but got poems anyhow!
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