The Lockdown Continues – part 2

In my last post (The Lockdown Continues, part 1), I shared how frustrating lockdown can be and meant every word of it.

I am so tired of Facebook that I don’t ever want to see it again for 6 hours a day. There is nothing worth watching on Netflix now that I have seen it all. I’ve quit asking Kim “Did I ever tell you about the time…” because I’ve finally had the chance to share every detail of my entire life. I’m waiting for Erin to block my incoming calls because I beg her not to hang up yet. The dog has started to run excitedly to the door when I leave the house because he needs his “me time”.

Kim lost her job. James’s job was deemed non-essential. Erin is working restricted hours because sheltering in place doesn’t mean shopping for your next big project at Lowe’s. My company cut everyone’s pay by 20%.

Income is down, but bills are up in The Days of Quarantine, we got several thousand dollars of invoices for James’s emergency room visit (click here for that story). My lawnmower died. My glasses broke. I keep buying things on Amazon to replace the broken stuff that constantly pops up at the house.

It’s tough out there.

Even as I hear myself singing the blues, I realize how totally ridiculous it sounds. There are people out there who have serious problems, and I am not one of them.

I am fifty-one years old and have had a decades-long, successful career. Not only has that allowed me to put money in the bank, but my kids are now grown and flown. Kim and I talk about how to change our budget while we sit in a spacious living room. To combat loneliness, I set up video conferences with my family across the country on a laptop with high-speed internet.

So many people out there are really struggling while I am inconvenienced.

Families are confined to tight living quarters for weeks on end. Parents return home from exhausting shifts on their feet to attempt to homeschool their children. People stand in long lines at food banks discussing unemployment sites that are unresponsive, relief checks that won’t cover the rent, and fees charged because you don’t have money. Loving people have opened their homes to aging parents then had to walk away from their jobs to keep them safe. Debt becomes a battle that will last for years while dreams of buying a starter home fly out of reach in an instant.

Health care workers expose themselves to peril in order to save people they have never met. Police break up fights at free community dinners, unable to know the dark forces they defy. Our treasured elders await their fate in isolation, living in care facilities where the virus spreads like wildfire, never knowing if they will see their loved ones again.

It is tough out there, and the inequality is unfathomable.

My first days were focused on myself, finding my own peace in the storm. It is time to rise and act. My own words from two years ago ring in my ears, strengthening me to join the fight.

God calls me his beloved son. He proclaims that I am heir to his kingdom, that everything he has is mine, and that his spirit and power live in me. Through him, I can move the mountains his hands carved, heal sickness where he breathed life, and restore hope to a world he spoke into existence. He offers me his full authority. Yet I hesitate and await his specific instruction at every step. I kneel and ask when it is time to stand and act. I am not able to wield his full power, but neither am I a child with a wooden sword. – “Who Am I?” (click to read)

In times of shadowy darkness, light shatters despair, sickness, and isolation. The torch we lift high now is a beacon of hope to a world that otherwise waits for a flattened curve.

A day will come when we stand before our Savior, reflecting back on the battle we are currently facing. Although our memories of these events may have faded, he will remember them with perfect clarity. Our actions now will ring in our ears on that day.

We will ask “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?”

Jesus will remind us the faces of the lives he redeemed, standing in long lines waiting for food. He will thank us for generous donations that allow the Salvation Army to serve a hot meal, or the local food banks to give bags of groceries to families that are struggling to make ends meet.

We will ask “When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?”

Jesus will tell the story of how we shared links to our online worship with our friends who were seeking hope. He will remind us how we donated the best of our clothes and shoes to our neighbors so that they could focus every dollar on paying their bills.

We will ask “When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’”

Jesus will remind us of each phone call to a lonely person, imprisoned in their homes and the Facetime, Zoom, or WhatsApp that allowed our faces to reflect His own.

He will remind us how we made our stand as a pandemic ravaged the earth, serving his brothers and his sisters. We will be ushered into Paradise with his thanks for what we do now.

Today is the day and this is the time. I will release my focus on my discontent and rise to the chance I have been given. Sixty-five cents serves a hot meal through the Salvation Army. Half of that provides groceries for a meal through North Texas Food Bank (or your local pantry). The blessings that have been showered on me will flow to my neighbors.

I will rise above my awkwardness and reach out to my confined friends. The world may see me fail at a video call but through perseverance, love will shine into rooms I cannot enter.

I will not wait for a phased reopening of America. Today is my Day One.

If you want to donate to the Salvation Army, go to https://www.salvationarmydfw.org/p/locations/lewisville. You can read about the services they provide or click on Get Involved in the top menu bar to guide you on how to donate.

Local food banks abound. Use Google to find ones in your area. Some are open to everyone. Some focus on children. Let your heart be your guide. The need for isolation has caused all of them to cancel fundraising events and they need our help.

Not sure? Start with a conversation with your family.

Questions with Jesus based on Matthew 25 starting in verse 31.