I remember the sounds of silence on September 12, 2001; the day was quiet – eerily quiet. I heard no jet planes overhead as I sat on our porch, writing and reflecting on the new normal.
Almost twenty years later, I reflect on another new normal, and the sounds of today’s silence from deafening headlines.
Pandemic Panic
The World in Lockdown
My TEXAS friend Lucy Higginbotham wrote on FB about the COVID-19.
At no time in the history of the world has the entire global population been discussing one topic at the same time and been in complete agreement- this illness is not a good thing.
Think about that!
But today was a new wrinkle; even as the President has declared this Sunday a National Day of Prayer in the midst of a National Emergency. Today’s new normal is that most houses of worship have closed their doors, perhaps for a longer spell than is comfortable. Churches filled up right after 9/11; they emptied back out a few weeks later.
Why?
The availability however of music and preaching that we have today – from the same sources of all the terrifying updates – is super. (Taking the Church Online in the Coronavirus Age)
This morning a friend posted an old favorite, Be Ye Glad. Tailor-made, I’d say. So however scary this new reality is . . . There is no disease or struggle that can pull you from God: Be Ye Glad!
It’s me and my “anxieties” that tangle me up and deflate my peace!
Seriously, with all the news, I catch myself worrying about stuff I haven’t thought about for years! Some nights I can almost laugh at myself and my “what-if’s?” Operative word: almost.
What calms me down in the wee small hours is thinking about other people . . . until I remember what is happening in Italy.
And the steroid, helpful as it is, is kind of like sleeping with a restless kid who won’t settle down . . .
However, as I drift off, a new sound broke the silence; the past few nights as I settled my inner restless child, and freaked old lady self, the phone rang at 2:00AM!
So cell phone dependent I am, I forget I had a landline!
Then what was funny, was Doug and me trying to figure out how to silence a ringer without our glasses. Seasoned citizens shouldn’t do anything in the middle of the night without their glasses!
The upside is I haven’t run out of canvasses, nor Matisses to copy . . . and energy abounds
This new normal could last for a while . . .
How are the sounds of silence at your home, dear reader?
Ours were refreshed today with a bounty of preachers who were able to reach and teach; comfort and counsel, perhaps a wider flock than previously.
With all the challenges and opportunities this new normal brings, it was good to hear The Lord will never forget us.– Isaiah 49:13-16.
It was also a blessing to have younger neighbors generously offer to do a bit of shopping for us, remembering Doug and I need to stay put for a spell. Their kids will be home from school, and they will be working tomorrow. I can’t run errands for them, or even offer to babysit; but, I can pray . . . and I can keep myself from borrowing trouble.
You must live with people to know their problems, and live with God in order to solve them. —Peter Taylor Forsyth (1848-1921)
Here’s to overcoming the sounds of silence the day may bring: Music is a wonderful tonic, especially such choral arrangements! This is the Day the Lord Has Made —