Pastor Deb Washer

We are in our third week of “social distancing” to help the COVID-19 virus go away. The other day I stepped outside onto my deck – and the environment around me – the whole world – seemed in a way physically and tangibility different. It was as if I were visiting an unfamiliar place where I didn’t know the language or the streets around me. It was a helpless feeling because we are told to trust the leaders who, frankly are not leading with the confidence that gives us peace. When the path ahead rounds a curve and we don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, hope is eroded bit by bit – like a stream shaping the river rocks within it. Doubt and fear increase when we do not know how long it will be before we can disembark this lonely train.

We receive daily updates: how many people have died – how many cases have been confirmed – how many people have been tested. This part of the day seems unusually grim because the unsaid tagline on it seems to be #youcouldbenext.

“Social distancing” was not in our vocabulary a few months ago – but now we hear and say it every single day – many times – over and over. Slowly it is “who we have become” – not just something that we do. Learning how to be a social distancer is difficult for everyone because it is against our nature – and something within us is fighting back against it. We must resist the temptation to “cheat” – by thinking that we are the only one breaking the rules.

We are created for connection. I believe that God designed us this way. When the connections are severed by the act of a decree – we want to rebel. “How dare you tell me to stay away from people I love.” And so, we sink into a victim mentality that destroys our emotional health little by little.

What if social distancing is truly the hero that will save the world? It makes sense. Viruses cannot infect if there is no one there to infect. Simple as that. But will our stubborn human need for connection be the downfall of our society’s health? I believe what is needed is a shift in our thinking from victim to victor! We have the chance – no, the privilege – in taking part in the greatest effort by mankind to destroy one common enemy. If we do this right – we can potentially defeat this SOB in less than 4 weeks.

What if today – everyone stayed put and stayed away from each other and no one was infected today? What if tomorrow we did the same thing? Then the next day, and the next, and the next until our leaders can yell, “Olly olly oxen free” and we can call come out of hiding? We win by not getting caught.

We have the privilege of being a part of the solution. It is temporary reality that we are asked to live in for a short period of time. We need to see this as the gift that it is. We have never before in history had the means to connect with the whole world and share information about one common enemy. We are lucky to be able to participate in the world-wide effort to defeat it.

We will come through this with battle scars: – loved ones lost – financial losses – lost freedoms – and other losses. But if we all are obedient to serve each other through sacrifice, then the humans win – and the virus loses. Let us move forward seeing the privilege of being part of the solution instead of being a victim to it. Let us begin to plan the celebration that the whole world will share when the virus is dead, and we can show those who we have saved the love that we have been storing up all of these weeks.

Peace, Deb