Another Pandemic Reflection

 

I’m Not In Charge
by Megan Burdolski, Director of Stewardship

I am a little bit disappointed to report that I’m not in charge. Of anything. Not really. I can be described as a take-charge individual. I can be bossy. I like to be in control. But, I am not in charge. Nor is President Trump or Doctor Fauci or Monsignor Offutt or Mayor Lucas. I hope that everyone reading this knows that God is the one who is truly in charge.

In these uncertain times, we all likely wish that we could have more control over what’s next. Some of us are anxious, or lonely, or frustrated, or disappointed. Some of us are defiant, or worried, or scared, or depressed. Very few of us are truly enamored of masks or social distancing. Most of us do not prefer to stay at home most of the time or miss out on events and activities we had previously planned.

Recently, my dad was admitted to the hospital for pneumonia - for the second time this year. Because of the current pandemic, we were unable to even go back with him in the ER when we first arrived at the hospital. Rather, my sister & I signed forms and were sent home to wait for a doctor to call. Over the past few years we have learned that Dad’s inability to get up on any given day is always tied to some sort of infection – pneumonia, bladder, whatever. So we were not surprised to learn about 4 hours later that he was being admitted for pneumonia. And, because we pay attention to the news, we were not particularly shocked to learn that he would be put in the Covid unit and we would be unable to visit unless he tested negative for Covid and was moved to a regular floor. Fortunately for us, the hospital my father was in was not too busy at the time so the staff were able to contact us several times to keep us updated and let us know as soon as he tested negative and had been moved to a different unit that we could visit.

In our case, he was admitted on a Friday and we were able to visit on Sunday. It wasn’t a terrible inconvenience. Nothing during this crazy time that has affected me directly has been life-threatening or unbearable or impossible to get through. Sure, I would’ve preferred for my kids to have had traditional graduation ceremonies in May. Of course, I would’ve loved to have stayed with my father in the ER and visited the first two days he was in the hospital. I certainly would have been more comfortable moving my son into his dorm last week without having to wear a mask and leave him in a place that most likely will be crawling with Covid-positive young adults within a few weeks. And I most definitely wish I could be planning a parish Fiesta rather than making sure we don’t exceed our occupancy at weekend Masses.

I read an article yesterday about school in the coming year. The article said that whatever we plan with regards to school will probably fail. It went on to say that that’s okay. The article wasn’t criticizing schools or educators or parents. Rather, it was saying that it is impossible to create a plan that will work perfectly for every student in every situation and to predict what might actually happen in the coming months. I personally think that we should adopt this philosophy – that it’s okay for things to not go as planned or to be perfect – for everything about life during the pandemic. Most of us have not lived through anything quite like this so it’s hard to be prepared for every scenario that may come into play.

As we all know by now, Covid-19 is not going to magically disappear one night while we are all sleeping. But, life goes on. We still have jobs and school and families that demand our attention. We still have hobbies to enjoy, games to play, movies to watch or books to read. We still need to prepare meals, tend our gardens and keep our homes clean. We still have joys to celebrate and sorrows to mourn.

As we continue to travel the unfamiliar road of our current lives, we need to take time to remember who is in charge. We need to take time to talk to Him and let Him help us along the journey. Then, when this is finally behind us, we will revel in the opportunity to once again come together as one faith community to praise His name!


Other Food for Thought

Our plans for school this year will probably fail - and that's O.K. - as published by America magazine

Covid-19 Prayer of Solidarity - from the USCCB

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