Praying in the Rain

It's our third day of self-quarantine. As it turns out, between the state of New Mexico and the Jicarilla Apache Nation, we would have had an imposed quarantine by now, anyway. I think this is incredibly wise, and it will hopefully spread out the medical needs sufficiently to avoid overwhelming the hospital system.

What's it like to be quarantined in the 21st Century? 

It's like praying in the rain.

A man we know came to our door. He is homeless and addicted to alcohol. He sometimes comes to the door and asks for food, a ride, or prayer. Usually my pastor-husband takes care of these needs, but on this occasion he was busy. I debated about opening the door (due to the quarantine), but decided that need outweighed caution. Deciding to keep the quarantine by stepping outside myself, I answered the door, called the man by name and asked what I could do for him. Through tears, he asked for prayer. I didn't know his specific need; I just knew it was great. Usually we would hold hands and pray, but I simply put my hand on his shoulder and prayed while getting wet. When he left, I washed my hands thoroughly (while singing "Happy Birthday" twice) and returned to parenting.

What's it like to be quarantined in the 21st Century?

It's like ordering birthday gifts for the guy who's turning 7 next week, during the quarantine. No shopping, no party, but he will have cake and gifts.

It's like taking a walk for exercise and seeing a youth you know from church and waving from across the street instead of hugging him. (I really love this kid! It was hard not to race over and hug him.)

It's like seeing a teacher-family (school's been ordered closed for three weeks) packing up their car to leave the reservation for the three-week break. I don't know where they were going, but their car was packed full.

It's like calling my 80+ year old parents to make sure they were protecting themselves.

It's like contacting my adult children to make sure they have what they need to make it through the social-distancing required by their local governments. And then sending them each some money to help them through this.

It's like rearranging a trip to Boston to celebrate my husband running the Boston Marathon in five weeks... because the marathon has been postponed till September. And realizing that it can't be a family trip in September because our teenager is going to attend public school next fall.

I'll also tell you what it's not like: 

It's not fear. It's prudence, not fear. 2nd Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. Loving others enough to stay home to protect them is God's work. We are talking to our children about how we are helping the hospitals and doctors and nurses by keeping all our germs to ourselves right now. We've assured them that there is nothing to fear, even if we get sick. With all my asthma issues of late (thankfully, it seems under control with new medication), we've already talked about how, even if one of us parents dies, God has a good, good plan for their lives.

It's not chaos. I'm seeing lots of Facebook posts about how awful it's going to be to have your children home all the time for an extended period of time. Since we homeschool, this is our normal! And honestly, I really like our kids. I like spending time with them! I certainly understand how difficult it would be to financially have no choice but to work and then have the children be home without warning. I pray that families in that situation find the help they need to make it through and stay well.

It's prayer and love and willing sacrifice. For all of you in some kind of quarantine/isolation/social distancing... stay safe and well! Enjoy the slower pace of life for a bit. And pray for our health care workers across the nation; this isn't anywhere near over.