"If I told you last semester that in a few months college would be canceled and we'd all be quarantined hiding out from a deadly disease, you wouldn't have believed me."
My friend (shoutout Catherine and her incredible YouTube) told me this when we were hanging out yesterday. She was on her bed in Houston and I was on mine in Dallas. We sat in mutual amazement at the world and shared a sense of astonishment at how quickly things had changed. But what we also shared was some excitement and hope.
My university made the call to go online a few days ago. I have to go back to move out at some point before May. I had anticipated spending my entire summer abroad; now I find myself with a possible six months back at home.
And right when it was all happening- when I was canceling my spring break plans so I wouldn't become a possible coronavirus transmission vector and when I was realizing that it would be months until I saw any of my friends again- I was devastated. Jesus, why did you bring me here? I asked in prayer. I was promised an adventure.
Is life with Me not one?
This time- this crazy time of quarantine and crashing stocks and barren grocery store shelves- this is an adventure in itself. Not the adventure I had hoped for when I was planning to go to Mexico for spring break and France and Spain for summer study abroad, but an adventure more wild and revolutionary than any I could have predicted.
This is not to diminish the terrible and terrifying reality of it all. This is not to gloss over the numbers, the people dying, the triage calls being made all over the world about who gets care, the thousands upon thousands of infected. This is not to ignore those whose livelihoods are being paused or sacrificed in the name of saving lives. This is not to label something as awful as a global pandemic as good, but simply to recognize the beauty that is capable of emerging from this.
Because what I see is families riding their bikes together on the trail by my house. I see neighbors who barely speak stopping on the sidewalk and chatting for an hour. I see shoppers at the store standing six feet apart and respecting that keeping our space is an act of love for one another.
I see my Bible study gathering over Google Hangouts and praying big prayers together in a new way, knowing that Jesus says He's present when two are gathered in His name and that even though we aren't physically together, we are absolutely gathered, and He is absolutely there. I see my friends sharing novenas and adoration livestreams and praise and worship playlists.
I have a corner of my room now that I set up for prayer. I have no excuses not to have a holy hour every day now. When I want to chat with Jesus, I sit back against pillows, surrounded by Christmas lights I strung from my walls to brighten the room. I open my chapel to a 24-hour adoration live stream. My desire for this time is so greatly increased
in the fact that I can't go to the chapel at the University Catholic Center.
I see my family cooking together and trying new recipes. I see us sitting together and laughing. I see my sisters having fun together and myself having fun with them, like we're all little and still have time for one another. And I don't see why I got so busy- why I suddenly decided that family was not so important at all. Connecting with our families is hard and is so vastly different for everybody, but I see these new connections forming. I see how beautiful and revolutionary this can be for our culture.
Because what I see, beyond the isolation, is the connection. We have to be proactive about our time apart together. "Hanging out" looks different. It looks like "getting coffee" with a friend, only we're in our separate kitchens, with our separate coffees, but we still sit for three hours just as we would have at a coffee shop somewhere. It looks like hiking or meeting at a park, keeping a distance but being together. It looks like catching up late at night. It looks like group Zoom calls. And it looks like coming up with new ideas of ways to connect: movie nights where we could all watch the same thing on our own TV's but have a phone call open. Sending each other workouts. Checking in with friends we've been meaning to text but kept forgetting to message. Sending hand-written letters.
I think there are other beautiful things that can come of this. There are gaps and cracks in our society that would likely not be fixed without being shaken, but I think that in the rebuilding we will be able to change so many things. And of course we can debate what those are! The politics of it are for later- I am fascinated by, and I believe in, the people. I think we'll be able to do a lot about healthcare. The environmental impact will be interesting without as much pollution and without as much of an emphasis on fast fashion. People are being less wasteful with food. And it'll be interesting to see how deliveries change! Amazon's been wanting to use drones to deliver stuff for a while. Maybe they'll get to try that out!
Think about it. New industries are going to be created! There are going to be fascinating new technologies that come out of this. Just think about how many people who like programming are stuck at home right now. Think about how many people want to create and tinker but just haven't had the time. Think about the entertainment industry! Watch so many authors self-publish books they haven't had the time to write. Watch new podcasts and YouTubes and Soundclouds pop up out of nowhere. Watch so much new art be created- and how interesting will it be to see how it reflects our current culture and struggles? And just think about all the academic research that will come out of this period!
What about fitness? We've all got so much time now, and nobody wants to just stay in their houses. How will outdoor exercise change? Or even just inside? I'm enjoying finding workout videos on YouTube to try. I did a dance one today! I'm not very good at dance, but I've got all the time in the world to learn how to do that. I have a wonderful list of things I'm excited to learn how to do, but that's another post and a future adventure.
I bet people's houses will be a lot more organized too. We've been doing a lot of cleaning and de-cluttering here. This is a wonderful time for us to see the differences between the things we need and the things we think we need, as scary as that also is. My family's also having fun gardening, and I have a lot of friends who are doing or starting to do the same thing. It's encouraging to see a little plant growing right now.
Maybe we'll all read a lot more too! We'll do fun projects and spend time together and also learn to rest and not be so busy all the time. Maybe in some ways it's good to have a little break from the craziness of the world.
Of course there are good and bad sides of all of the time at home. We don't know exactly how this will play out. But in thinking about the good that can come out of the change, I am very encouraged. Because I have to believe that the world we'll rebuild will be a better and more caring one than the one we're leaving behind. And in so many little ways- by staying home and social distancing to protect each other, by calling an old friend or waving on the sidewalk to an elderly neighbor- we are already choosing to create that kinder future. I believe in us.
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