As of Monday evening, 23.03.20, the UK is in lockdown to delay the spread of Covid-19. The virus that has dominated the news since its outbreak in China in December. The virus that has everyone talking. The virus that is filling many people’s lives with fear and anxiety. The virus that has stopped people socialising (in person at least). The virus that has shut down all public meeting places; pubs, libraries, cafes, cinemas, even shops. The virus that has people connecting virtually now, more than ever. The virus that has caused humanity to completely change their way of living.

I see in my Instagram feed parents who are making schedules for home educating. I see people talking about working from home. I see people talking about what they’re going to do with all the ‘free time’ they now have. I stop. I ponder; what I am I going to do with this time I now have? Could I finish my novel? Could I blog more? Could I finally sort through the house as I’ve been meaning to do since last summer? Could I read more books? Could I play more games with Sam?
But wait. I have a 10 month old human to look after. My work hasn’t moved from an office to my house. My children suddenly aren’t in school anymore and I have to suddenly become their teacher as well as their mother (just to clarify my 10month old is the only child I have). My ‘routine’ has not changed dramatically – I still get to be at home. My son and I still get up, have breakfast, play, nap, play, lunch – well you get the idea (we just can’t see people and or go anywhere).

Everything has changed, yet it all stays the same.

But, it’s not all about me. I realise that for a lot of people life has changed dramatically. New routines are put into place. How we communicate with and care for others is done differently (I think it will be a miracle if Zoom hasn’t broken down by the end of next week!).
All I can hope and pray for is that we as a society learn, develop and grow. That we realise what is important. I hope that planet Earth has some relief from the impact we human beings are having on it and repairs a little. I hope small, independent businesses flourish rather than fade away; families connect and grow rather than fight and break; people appreciate the small rather than worry about the big.

Everything has changed, yet it all stays the same.

While I have stated that not a lot has changed for me personally, I’d be in denial if I said this wasn’t affecting me at all. On Thursday morning I found myself feeling somewhat overwhelmed but there are two things that are keeping me going and giving me hope and peace in all this chaos.

1. The magnolia tree I can see from my lounge window. It reminds me that nature is carrying on – while humanity is in the midst of chaos and having to adapt to a new way of living, nature is carrying on. The earth is still spinning. Spring is springing. Flowers are blooming. Tides are turning. The sun sets, the sun rises. Nature is carrying on.
2. This won’t last forever. Whilst everything is uncertain – we have no idea when we will see friends and family again in the flesh, or when we’ll return to work, or our children go back to school – I believe this won’t last forever. I was drawn to a passage in my bible yesterday when I was feeling overwhelmed and hopeless and I found it to be a huge encouragement.
   

We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed […] That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed everyday. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but things we cannot see will last forever.”

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 & 16-18

Yes, things are difficult, things are different. We are rationed with how many things we can buy at the supermarket. We have mortgages to pay and no income. We have work to do and children to teach. We have troubles, we are perplexed, we are knocked down but we can choose not to despair, not to be crushed, not to be destroyed. Why? Because, we are never abandoned by God. He is our hope. In comparison to Him, the almighty God, our troubles are small and won’t last for long. This gives me an immense amount of hope. No, it doesn’t help me understand why this is happening in the first place or why God doesn’t just make it stop. right. now. But it does give me hope that He will be with us through it all and we will grow and at some point it will end. Lockdown, social distancing and self-isolating will end. In the mean time, I continue to look at the magnolia tree, I fix my eyes on Him and put my hope in Him.