Do you have those moments when you recall the exact feeling at certain points of your life? One notable recollection I have was when I was 9 years old, I think. I still remember that scene in my mind when we arrived at home from a Christmas school event. I delivered my declamation piece that day at the Christmas program. I have been stressing about it for the past weeks as I memorized the lines and rehearsed over and over. With that completed without a hitch, along with all exams plus two weeks of Christmas vacation coming up, l was overjoyed. I remember the distinct cool breeze gently blowing through my face and when that same cool breeze comes my way today, I am transported back to that evening. I was giddy and happy because all my anxieties from the previous weeks were lifted and the most wonderful time of the year is coming. I can sleep, play, watch TV as much as I can. More importantly, it’s Christmas season … and as a child, I anticipate what my presents would be and look forward to Mama’s delicious food preparations.
Ahhh … life was simple back then. As we grow older, so does our world become more complex. It’s not about school anymore but our issues involve matters of life and death. Our responsibilities go beyond doing well in school and finishing chores at home. We are now the front liners of our lives with no dependency from our parents or other people. 2020 has been more glaring because of the Covid19 pandemic. Suddenly all other issues seem trivial. Let us review the year in this pandemic crisis and how we thrived through it.
We first heard about this mysterious virus with pneumonia type symptoms in Wuhan, China early December 2019. When cases grew in number and lockdown was issued in that city, we still felt safe here knowing it was happening on another part of the globe. Our first case came in February after a Toronto resident travelled back from Wuhan carrying with him the virus. Things started to escalate as people coming in from various hotspots not only in China but Iran, Italy, Spain, UK and US, brought the virus. Local transmission then was the main cause of the spread in Canada. By mid-March a total lockdown was mandated within Ontario province and other Canadian provinces followed suit. On March 24, Canada had 2,792 confirmed cases. When the date of the lockdown was announced, people started panic buying and hoarding toilet paper, sanitizers and cleaning products. Everyone was ensuring they have what they need prior to the shutdown taking effect. Shortages of protective equipment and capacity of medical facilities became major issues. News flooded us with reports of infections, deaths and scarcities of hospital beds and other facilities in Italy, Spain, France and UK. We were glued to our televisions and mobile devices keeping up with the news. We see daily briefings from our Prime Minister, Premiere and health experts and officials. It brought us a bit of a relief seeing how capable our government is and handling it better compared to other countries.
As the world was grappling with all these new scenarios, we were also grappling in dealing with our own emotions of fear, worry and uncertainty. We had a newfound appreciation of the freedoms we took for granted before – dining out, working out, hiking and going out without any feeling of concern. Slowly we come to terms with our new norm. Now we use substantially words that were foreign to us previously such as social/physical distancing, quarantine, isolation even the word pandemic. We coped by connecting via video calls with our loved ones and friends across the globe/country. We appreciated the benefits of working from home and companies who frowned upon on this practice, realized it is doable. We used Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes and other food delivery apps a lot. Parents especially with young kids, learned how to home school. Teachers / professors were opened to the realm of online teaching. We saw people learning new hobbies – breadmaking, baking, plant growing, trying out new recipes and for some starting new businesses. Seniors were introduced to the use of digital devices. We saw families being creative in how they spend time at home participating in TikTok dances, home olympics, and more. We witnessed birthday/graduation car parades, celebrations at the parks to mark milestone occasions. We attended online church services, weddings, baby showers and other parties. There were virtual concerts, more YouTube channels, IG accounts and Netflix shows discovered and followed. We have adjusted to using masks/face shields and applying sanitizers/washing our hands regularly. For those of us who love to travel, we opted to contribute to local tourism, discovering new attractions a short drive away. With Christmas just around the corner, new drive throughs of beautiful lights and designs sprouted for a safer way of enjoying the season. There are for sure a lot of downside to this crisis but there are bright spots to it as well.
At the time of this writing, Canada has over 396,000 cases and 65.4 million worldwide. There are over 12,407 deaths in Canada and 1.5 million worldwide. There are recoveries as well – 315,000 in Canada and 42.1 million worldwide. We heard heartbreaking stories of deaths and how funerals were limited to a handful of family members. It happened to people we know, and we grieved with them. On the other hand, there were stories of remarkable recoveries. We celebrated and journeyed with loved ones and friends who overcame health trials. We were encouraged by their faith, the deep affection, care and patience demonstrated by their loved ones. There are a lot of inspiring stories of neighbour helping neighbour, various initiatives of spreading positivity, joy, love and tangible aid. This crisis is far from over, but we are seeing a light at the end of this crisis tunnel with the vaccines on their final stages of approvals for distribution.
As our problems become more complicated, so does our wisdom and our capacity in dealing with them. Trial after trial that we go through in life, discipline and shape us. When troubles hit us, we can approach it in two ways. We can let it defeat us or we rise above it. We can let it paralyze us or we become creative in adapting to it. Praise God for He created us to have a high intellect and emotions that equip us to thrive and survive. Do not underestimate human tenacity and perseverance. Choose to believe you can overcome and move forward.
Psalm 8:3-8
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honour. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
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