One year ago today, I was on a plane headed back home after spending a week in Austria. I had no idea I was coming back to a different reality than the one I left.
Before leaving for Austria, we heard about Corona Virus, but it was a distant idea. We wondered before leaving if we would be safe traveling to another country, but quickly dismissed those concerns as silly.
Half-way through our time in Austria, the churches there began to talk of restrictions. There were less and less people out and about.
We began to hear from our church at home that they wanted us to quarantine when we got back home.
The night before leaving we went to a restaurant in Salzburg and it was eerily quiet.
Our plane was mostly empty…everyone had a row to themselves to stretch out. It was nice, but also strange and a little concerning.
Just a few hours after arriving home, there was an announcement that our country was closing off travel from other countries.
Over the next week, things quickly began shutting down across the country as the seriousness of COVID19 began to settle in and become a reality.
As a family, we decided early on that we would do everything we could to protect ourselves and others from contracting and passing on the virus. I am proud that we have done just that. It has not been easy and we have sacrificed, but I want to look back on this time in the future and be able to way with full confidence that we did everything we could.
My husband has been working from home since March 13, 2020. I didn’t know how we would manage with him working from home, but we have enjoyed this time together immensely! We invested in a standing desk for him and a better L-shaped desk that is located in what we were using as a homeschool room. Now, it’s an office/school room where everyone in the family has a desk to work at.
We have worshipped online with streaming services through our local church. My three older kids have been attending youth worship and game nights on Sunday evenings with their youth group outside and socially distanced since the fall. We all miss being in church with other believers.
We have shopped for groceries through online delivery, utilizing services such as Shipt and Peapod. I have been inside a grocery store less than five times in the past year.
We haven’t eaten inside a restaurant either. We have splurged with food delivery for birthdays and special events or just for treats because that’s all that we can do. Keith and I have weekly date nights with food delivery and a Netflix show.
I went for a haircut about three weeks ago and it was my first haircut since last February. I don’t think I’ve ever gone this long without getting my hair cut and colored. I had lots of grey sprinkled through my hair a few weeks ago!! I never thought I would or could go this long without that kind of maintenance, but in the end it seemed like such a small price to pay in the midst of a pandemic.
My husband and I had a trip planned to London for our 20th anniversary which we celebrated last May. Plane tickets were purchased and the hotel was booked. We were ecstatic about celebrating this milestone anniversary away together on a dream vacation. We quickly realized we had to cancel those tickets. If I’m being honest, the loss of that trip still stings a little.
I’m writing all of this out not to brag or call attention to what we did right, but to document what our life looked like over the past year. There were some in our world what were more restrictive that cautious than we were. There were many others who were less restrictive and cautious. I try really hard not to judge those around me about their decisions regarding COVID and the sacrifices they made (or did not make).
Over the last year, our family has sacrificed. But our sacrifice is nothing compared to what others have had to sacrifice. It is nothing compared to the loss of life and the loss of a loved one.
Our country has lost over 500,000 loved people.
This devastating loss of life has been recognized by very few in our country.
When I think of this past year, I think of all that I have learned about myself, about others in my life, and about the church.
I am saddened by the response or lack of response to this crisis by the church. Both the BIG C and LITTLE C church.
I am saddened and disappointed that followers of Christ, believers in the gospel, did not sacrifice the most, but balked the most at being asked to sacrifice out of love for their fellow man.
I am saddened by those that look back on this time and can only see the absurdness of a toilet paper shortage and cannot see the real impact on life.
I am saddened by people and ministries and churches that only see the inconvenience of this year instead of the hurt and pain that so many experienced.
I don’t have an answer for the sadness that lives in my heart at the end of this long year.
The end of the beginning is starting to approach. I can start to see light and hope.
My husband has been fully vaccinated. I am eagerly waiting for the time when it is available for me.
My family has orders to PCS to Germany this summer. That move will look so different. It will involve many stressful moments and we’ll slowly reenter a world without COVID in another country. I’m looking forward to the break away from life in America and all the noise.
I’m praying for a better world…one that is more compassionate and loving.
I’m praying for repentance and revival…both in my own heart and in the church.
I’m praying for an honest reckoning after a year of living in a pandemic.