If So Be

“We are always falling in love or quarreling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come.” – C.S. Lewis 

7:05AM alarm goes off – hit snooze.

7:15AM alarm goes off – hit snooze again.

7:30AM alarm -snooze.

You get the picture.

Until it’s 8:15AM and I’m forced to bring myself to wake. But instead of sitting at my closet, starring up at the clothes that I haven’t picked out for the day with only five minutes to get out the door – I roll out of bed, grab my laptop and get a cup of coffee to sit down to start a work day.

A day in the life of 2020 quarantine.

At the beginning of the year, they said that we had 20/20 vision. We have entered the roaring 20s.

Little did we know, that within a few months, a virus from China was going to break out into the United States and the whole world, sending us all into lockdown. The world as we know it, even almost a year later, is still so different compared to the carefree life we once kept. We wear masks whenever we are in buildings and in close proximity to other people. A toilet paper shortage and lack of cleaning supplies in stores was a normal occurrence. Purell hand sanitizer and Clorox cleaning wipes have become luxury items. People rampaged stores to buy food to stock up.

Unable to do anything about the situation we were all in, we went into survival mode.

We all worked from home, a good amount lost their jobs. We received a stimulus check from the government. Student loans were put on forbearance.  The world was at a standstill. Playgrounds were closed down. Theaters, concert venues, any place with large gatherings, still are not permitted to open. Anxieties have increased, panic attacks a regular occurrence – the lonely became more lonely and suicide rates and domestic abuse have gone up.

But it’s all for the greater good right? It’s to fight an unseen enemy, one that can’t be brought down by artillery or diplomacy. It attacks the weak and the only thing that can fight against it is the victim’s immune system and the long awaited for vaccine. But the virus has become more than just a virus – it has defined 2020 and in the process many of our governing authorities have taken away our quality of living.

The elderly are quarantined in nursing homes, unable to hug their families but instead have a pane of glass separating them from the window. We are forced to be in our homes at certain times because of mandatory curfews. We are told that traveling for the holiday is a risk and gatherings of more than 10 in some places are banned.

If 2020 has taught us anything it’s been that people need people. Social media has made us more lonely and more depressed this year than ever before, and it’s because we are not called to live through screens. We long for human touch and the physical presence of others and we need each other. God didn’t make us to be alone.

But this is just a common issue amongst the masses – these hardships aren’t even taking into account the people who have had personal struggles or tragedies to deal with this year. A pandemic does not halt personal lives even though it seems as if everything is at a standstill.

People the closest to me have suffered so much  – unrelated to COVID-19, but because of this virus, it has made these personal sufferings maximized and even harder to deal with. Every year is a survival, and 2020 was no exception to that.

At the beginning of this year, I was reading my Bible one snowy, January evening after the holidays and the phrase “If so be…” came up. I did a handy phrase search in my bible app and found that this phrase was pretty commonly used throughout the books in the Kings James version. It starts with a circumstance and ends with an assurance. If this happens, this will follow.

So if 2020 happens, Jesus will redeem it.

And 2020 did happen.

I don’t want to go into all the horrible things that happened this year – it’s just been hard.  Sad. Tragic. Insert all the synonyms that have to do with those words.

And tiring.

As if a global pandemic wasn’t enough to deal with, racial injustice, protests/riots have marched the streets in almost every town. The 2020 elections happened and both sides of the political aisle are just as angry and frustrated as they were before. The social media and news sources have become more toxic than ever this year.

This is 2020 America. It’s been chaotic and heartbreaking. This is the world we are living in – and I don’t think it will get any easier.

But Christ is on our side.

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” Romans 8:17

We will inherit the glory that is shared with Christ, but we also will share in suffering before sharing the glory that is to come.

But with all this hurt endured this year, there is healing and hope. Hope not placed on others nor in ourselves, but in Jesus, to redeem, to guide, to hold His children close. Matthew 11:28-39 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.“