I do about three miles a couple of times a week walking on the Monon Trail and happened by this goose standing on top of one of the old cottages on Cornell Avenue. All the other geese are in pairs, honking and letting everyone know they are claiming nesting areas, but this guy is abiding by our current social distancing regulations and he looks like many of us who are feeling a little lonely.
I don't know about you, but when I heard we were supposed to stay in for another month here in Indiana, my heart sank. I am worried about all those who are sick, but also about the the businesses that rely on people coming in, sitting down next to each other having a meal or a coffee. I am worried about the companies with production lines that produce "non-essential" items and their employees, wondering how they can stay in business and what will happen to those jobs.
God made man to work. (2 Thessalonians 3: "If anyone will not work, neither let him eat.") I heard one man on television say that his yard was looking pretty good. Families are cleaning out their garages, working in the yard, and anything else they can think of to stay busy. I've heard the sale of paint is through the roof. But this is not normal. It is not normal to stand six feet away from people. It is not normal not to hug or shake hands. It is not normal to wipe down every single surface with Clorox wipes, or to shudder at the thought of touching your own face.
I knew a man who suffered one of the first cases of COVID-19 in Marion County and he has passed away. It is heart-breaking and it is scary. Yet, as the daughter of a small business person, it is also frightening to realize that even with huge government intervention, many people will lose their jobs and many others will not recover from the economic devastation this has caused. The Federal assistance bills will triple our national deficit, a problem that will be visited on our descendants for generations to come. And non-profit organizations, like ours, whose donations often come from generous people whose stock market returns are strong, will be devastated.
I think about David, hiding in a cave to avoid the king's warriors, sent to kill him. Like us, David had done nothing wrong. He was just going on with life, doing what he was supposed to do. And, like us, his only option was to wait on the Lord as recorded in Psalm 27: "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: and wait, I say, wait on the Lord."
I have to admit, waiting is not my strong suit and I'd rather get my life lessons another way. But tuition-free, this pandemic is offering us a myriad of faith lessons. Maybe that's what that goose is thinking about up there on the roof—the deeper spiritual meanings of this isolating time and what God might have in store for us. Like David, it is time for us to have faith, courage and strength. It is time to wait, wait on the Lord.
So, dear friends, be of good courage. In my mind, I am hugging you all,
Nancy
