Coronavirus and an Opportunity for Greatness
Before this pandemic hit our nation, I considered myself a good Christian. I give to the Church; I help others when I can; I give an honest day's work to provide for my family; I raise my children in the faith handed down to us by our Lord. But this pandemic has opened my eyes in the past couple weeks.
My wife and I quickly realized that the burden that would hit us, as our state went on "lock-down", would impact other people as well...and probably hit them harder. After all, I have a job that allows me to work from home, so I won't lose a paycheck (yet). And despite the initial mob that emptied our local grocery store, we have a place nearby to buy the essentials and we are both capable of going shopping. ("Both capable of going shopping" is something I didn't realize I was taking for granted until recently.) And while it meant having six children at home, like wild rabbits being chased by a cage, we are more adjusted to that than most because we homeschool. Never mind the missed field trips, co-op classes, play dates and other outings to which they are accustomed which makes a "lock-down" rather miserable. But I digress.
So, my wife posted a basic message on a neighborhood-based website simply stating that we were willing to help people obtain supplies and food, as needed, and could make deliveries if necessary.
What I expected to find were people who were directly impacted by "Coronavirus" and needed help as a direct result of the pandemic. What we really found were people who needed help regardless of any virus, regardless of world-wide illness, regardless of a state "lock-down". We found families who needed help before "Covid-19" ever hit the ears of the general American public. We found people isolated in their homes because their vehicles had broken down long ago and they couldn't afford to fix them. We found a man who couldn't stand on hard surfaces for more than a few minutes at a time whose wife had broken her back. We found a young single mother who broke her ankle and couldn't take out the trash and clean the house so that her young child had a clean and safe environment. We found couple, both disabled and with no reliable income, whose three children had just eaten the last of the food they had, and they didn't know what they were going to eat the next day or the next week. We found people who are in need. But more than that, we found an opportunity to serve. We found a chance to physically provide sustenance; to offer not only our prayers but our physical and material assistance. We found an opportunity to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted. Where we thought we would have a chance to help those affected by Coronavirus, we found a chance to help those in need regardless of it.
When we were fist told that our state would be on "lock-down", I dreaded the idea of being stuck at home all day "with nothing to do". Now I feel rather ashamed that it took a "lock-down" for me to see what I should have been doing all along. The Coronavirus has its negatives, to be sure; people are dying from it, after all. But it also have a positive. It gives us an opportunity to serve...an opportunity for true greatness (Mt 23:11).
Image is a cropped-down portion of "Grocery Delivery in Philadelphia" by Jason Varney; posted in Philadelphia Magazine 03/29/2015
So, my wife posted a basic message on a neighborhood-based website simply stating that we were willing to help people obtain supplies and food, as needed, and could make deliveries if necessary.
What I expected to find were people who were directly impacted by "Coronavirus" and needed help as a direct result of the pandemic. What we really found were people who needed help regardless of any virus, regardless of world-wide illness, regardless of a state "lock-down". We found families who needed help before "Covid-19" ever hit the ears of the general American public. We found people isolated in their homes because their vehicles had broken down long ago and they couldn't afford to fix them. We found a man who couldn't stand on hard surfaces for more than a few minutes at a time whose wife had broken her back. We found a young single mother who broke her ankle and couldn't take out the trash and clean the house so that her young child had a clean and safe environment. We found couple, both disabled and with no reliable income, whose three children had just eaten the last of the food they had, and they didn't know what they were going to eat the next day or the next week. We found people who are in need. But more than that, we found an opportunity to serve. We found a chance to physically provide sustenance; to offer not only our prayers but our physical and material assistance. We found an opportunity to feed the hungry and comfort the afflicted. Where we thought we would have a chance to help those affected by Coronavirus, we found a chance to help those in need regardless of it.
When we were fist told that our state would be on "lock-down", I dreaded the idea of being stuck at home all day "with nothing to do". Now I feel rather ashamed that it took a "lock-down" for me to see what I should have been doing all along. The Coronavirus has its negatives, to be sure; people are dying from it, after all. But it also have a positive. It gives us an opportunity to serve...an opportunity for true greatness (Mt 23:11).
Image is a cropped-down portion of "Grocery Delivery in Philadelphia" by Jason Varney; posted in Philadelphia Magazine 03/29/2015
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