Reset part 2: The View from Camp COVID

Last week, Kim was fortunate enough to be included in the early rollout of COVID vaccinations. She got the first of two injections on a Friday and although her arm was a bit sore the next day, she had no real side effects. In theory, that got her immunity up to 50%.

The next day she and James drove to Big Bend National Park to hike and enjoy the beautiful scenery. It was a short trip that they very much enjoyed. They took a few pictures of each other standing in front of breathtaking backdrops but didn’t bring back much else…except a double case of COVID.

By Tuesday, Kim had symptoms that she chalked up to a bad cold – coughing, headache, body aches. She stayed home but generally continued her regular routine, although at a reduced capacity.

On Thursday, James drove back from our house back to Austin for spring semester. By the time he arrived, he felt bad and took his temperature only to discover a 101° fever. The next morning, he headed to Student Health to get his rapid test. Bad news. He tested positive.

He was predictably disappointed with the outcome and got back into his car to go to his apartment and consider his next steps. On the short drive, a car pulled out directly in front of him and with no time to respond, he hit it broadside. Thankfully, no one was injured except for the cars involved. He was able to drive back to his apartment, but the puddle of fluid under the radiator made it clear that it wasn’t going anywhere until it was repaired.

Kim received his call and scheduled herself and me for our rapid tests. After getting our brains tickled with the swab, our results came back. Hers was positive, my initial test result was negative.

By evening, she felt really bad and climbed into bed at 4 pm. I texted a few of her friends whose numbers were on my phone and left it to them to pass along the news. I also alerted our extended families, my boss, and a few friends that James and Kim were confirmed positive, had mild-to-moderate symptoms, and that all of us would be in quarantine for the coming days.

On Saturday, I got up early and made the eight-hour round trip to Austin to bring James back to our house. In his small apartment with a roommate and a dog, there was no way for him to isolate effectively without exposing his roommate or others. Although he had been relieved to go back to school only forty-eight hours earlier, his destiny was to return to mom and dad’s house for a while.

When I got back, the lab messaged me that they had conducted a secondary test that is more accurate, and my result was also positive. Although my symptoms are mild, the count at our COVID Camp had climbed to three.

A lot changes in a few days.

Only a week ago, my blog post (click to read The Flood) contemplated what the world would be like when the pandemic was over. I have been preparing my thoughts for my follow-up post, which I planned to title “The Abundant Life”. If the world were to become very different, I would need to determine a new set of dreams.

I am suddenly faced with counting out three separate mountains of pills each day, focusing on taking care of Kim, and learning to survive in a bubble. My considerations of a new tomorrow were very premature. For a time, my job is to take the best care possible of my family and avoid spreading this infection to a world already full of is already full of it.

It’s not exactly the abundant life I had imagined.

I sat down and prepared to settle into a COVID Sucks Pity Party. We were short on groceries. I would have to work from home for two weeks (not a fan, by the way). What I had hoped was almost over seemed to just be getting started.

The Abundant Life? Are you kidding me? An abundance of problems maybe, but not the blessings I’d hoped for.

Then my phone buzzed. I ignored it. A few seconds later, it buzzed again, then again. Then the phone rang. It didn’t stop for the next hour two hours.

One after another, someone was calling to check on me and the family. Before it was over, we had several specific offers to help – Donna brought her best-in-the-world mac and cheese, Bob recommended shows to binge-watch on Netflix, Steve dropped N95 masks in the mailbox, Mary Jo and Wendy delivered cookies, Columba sent comfort verses, Carra supplied input on vitamins to take, Erin picked up my prescriptions, and two different Pams scheduled dinner deliveries for the week.

Other people have called with general offers to help in any way they could – Hank, Kelly, my boss, my dad, and others. These offers weren’t hollow, meaningless gestures. They really mean it. I know for a truth that I could ask anything of any of them and it would be on my doorstep within moments.

It is overwhelming. I love every one of these people so much.

My immediate needs have been met. I am assured that everything else will be provided when it is needed.

These gestures are extraordinarily generous, but they are merely reflections of the extravagant God who orchestrates it all. On days that are full of darkness, his presence shines brightly in a way I never notice when everything is sunny.

I am re-thinking my definition of The Abundant Life. It isn’t an existence free of stress, troubles, injury, and pain. It is a life full of peace, love, and joy. One describes the circumstances that surround me. The other is the condition of my heart in the midst of those circumstances.

I love days that are full of promotion, victory, miracles, and rainbows. The beauty of God’s creation fills my eyes. His divine favor rests on my shoulders. His goodness is on display for everyone who will see.

I also love the days when storm clouds gather and the world warns of imminent disaster. When aches and pain run through my body and tears fill my eyes, God stops what he is doing to comfort me. He sends friends to stand by my side. He reminds me that I will have trouble in this world, but that he has overcome it. He soothes my soul.

An abundant life has days that are easy and days that are hard. It also has many uneventful ones when nothing exciting happens. It is not about the events that fill your days. An abundant life is one that is filled with faith, hope, and love.

Maybe it is too early to see what lies ahead when the pandemic’s floodwaters recede. However, in the days of trial that precede the next season, I am reminded that joy is born out of love that is shared.

It is exactly the right time to cherish the special people in my life – the ones who need my help, the ones who are offering their help to me, and the One who holds us all together. My life is blessed to be full of them.

This is the abundant life.