Stick together — from a safe distance

Published 10:59 am Wednesday, April 1, 2020

By Clark Bailey

The Loyalist

Baseball has been suspended. Basketball is done for the season. TV production is suspended for many programs. The 2020 Summer Olympics will be played in 2021. The Kentucky Sweet 16 was canceled.

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Business of all sorts are closed. Travel has slowed to a crawl. Store shelves are empty. You can’t get a haircut. You can’t go to a wedding. Most people can’t go to loved one’s funerals. You cannot visit loved ones in nursing homes. New cases and deaths arise every day.

New York, California, Louisiana, and Washington state are in dire straits and have the overwhelming majority of the country’s COVID-19 cases. Almost every state is on a shelter in place order an order similar to that.

The holiest time of the year for millions of Christians, that of Lent, Holy Week and the Easter celebration have been interrupted. Churches are fairly empty and services have been canceled. While some congregations have tried creative ways to worship with online services and drive-in services it is clear that the coronavirus has seriously impacted Christian worship.

Congress has passed a massive bill aimed at relief to the economy with millions furloughed or laid off and small businesses on life support. Time will tell if it does the trick we are all hoping and praying it will do, while in the meantime we’ll spend our Trump bucks on canned food and ammo.

Tensions are up in the communities as people are frightened and anxious. Social distancing and concerns have closed down public parks and put most outdoor social activities on hiatus for now.

Yes. Yes, things are tough. Yes, we all are feeling it. Yes, it’s going to be a long road back to normalcy, and yes, we’re going to all get through this together.

I know things are tough. I know things at times look fairly dim. I know trying times like these bring out either the best or unfortunately the worst in people. And I know we have seen and will see some of the worst in the days to come. With that being said, let’s take a minute to look at all the positive stories going on right now.

Mercedes Formula One and the University College of London have been manufacturing breathing aids for the National Health Service in the UK for COVID-19 patients.

Germany has used its military to transport patients from countries like Italy and France, who were much harder hit by the virus, for treatment in German hospitals.

Fiona and Adam Gordon of Yorkshire, UK, donated 400 meals from their canceled wedding reception to workers at a hospital local to them.

Whiskey distilleries around the United States are making the precious commodity of hand sanitizer at a time it is sorely needed.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University say that antibodies recovered from COVID-19 patients may be able to help future patients.

Geneva Wood a 90-year-old woman in Washington state has recovered completely from COVID-19. Seemingly a miracle recovery for what has been deadly for so many elderly people who have come down with the virus.

There are countless more stories of how people are reacting positively during this crisis. They range from steps businesses are taking to make things safer and easier for people to the fact families are spending more time together due to quarantine. I wish I had time to write about them all.

Remember, we have a ways to go to get through this. It’s going to take us all doing our part. It’s going to take us all sticking together ( though at a safe social distance… haha) to make it. Most of all, even though our churches are closed we are going to have to cling to Christ to make it.

God bless you all and let’s look forward to the time we are all laughing about all of this.