Birthdays, an Anniversary, and a Worldwide Pandemic

May 11th, 2020

I try to take time every once in a while to reflect on life and the ways God has blessed us. Four significant events have occurred over the past few weeks. Three of them were cause to celebrate. One event . . . well . . . wasn’t.

Covid-19

This virus began dominating the international news early in 2020. I didn’t pay that much attention to it at first. I was living in Asia, after all, back when SARS caused a worldwide panic. SARS never directly affected my life, and I assumed that Covid-19 wouldn’t either.

Needless to say, I underestimated what this microbe would do to the world. The first case officially arrived here in El Paso on March 13th. We had worship on March 15th and announced we would not be gathering together again for the rest of the month. Our primary concern was protecting our older members. We have not been able to gather for worship since.*

Covid-19 has cast a shadow over all the other life events that have come and gone in the past two months. Governments all over the world have stifled normal economic, educational, and social activities in an attempt to control the spread of infection. Many are wondering if this strategy has caused more damage than the virus itself, but I am not inclined to write about that debate. Maybe I will some other time. Maybe not.

Eight Years Together

Mare Cris and I celebrated eight years of marriage a few days after the before-mentioned arrival of Covid-19. “Celebrated” may not be the best word: Cris was sick, and I’m not sure there was any place we could have gone if she had been well. Regardless, we are grateful for another year of life together.

Two Years Old

Clark at the pediatrician’s office (2-year checkup)

My son turned two back in March. I took him for his medical checkup, where I learned he is in the 95th percentile of height for his age. He seems to get stronger and more rambunctious with each passing day.

Birthday/Mother’s Day

My 48th birthday fell on Mother’s Day this year. We had a small celebration at the house.

Thank you, Lord!

May 10th, 2020

 

*Update: Our church was able to continue worshiping again in June–a few weeks after I wrote this post.