The Beginning of 2020

One word:

CORONAVIRUS.

Wowzers, it's amazing how much that one word has changed our world. The entire world.

The abbreviation is COVID-19. It's a virus that started in China late last year. It quickly spread to the rest of the world. We started hearing about it the end of January; China was forcing all of their citizens in certain areas to stay in their homes to mitigate the spread of the virus. It sounded crazy and surreal. Then a cruise ship had patients test positive and they were quarantined on the ship for 2 weeks before they could go home. More craziness. From there it rapidly spread until it affected all 50 states in our country.

Students have been out school for weeks. Businesses are closed. Grocery stores have many empty shelves. We are having church at home. All community events are canceled. The economy is in shambles. People are staying home in an effort to stop the spread.

The virus is mild for most people under the age of 40. 98% percent of the deaths are in people over the age of 60. There are still so many unknowns, but at it's core, COVID-19 causes breathing problems and leads to pneumonia and eventually death, especially in older people with underlying health conditions.

On top of that, we were awoken one morning this week to a 5.7 earthquake.

It all feels so surreal.

But every day, I am reminded of the good. I am reminded that despite conflicting rumors people are spreading out of fear and as a result of the media, there is one source I can always trust.

I have felt comforted, guided, and inspired in the weeks and months leading up to this crazy time. Several weeks ago, I felt the need to replenish our short-term food storage. Mitch has been led to make certain financial decisions for our savings accounts and stay current on our tithing. We truly feel that we could not be more prepared for this time. Between our personal inspiration and the guidance from our prophet, we feel blessed and ready.

Not to say that moments of fear don't creep in. Fear and confusion are always lying dormant, waiting to creep up when we let our guard down. Those are the moments when I have to close my eyes and say a silent prayer. I might need to count my blessings, remind myself that Heavenly Father is in charge and He loves His children, or give myself a good sanity check (especially after talking to people who are gullible and panicked).

It will all be okay. This will not last forever. Eventually the days of staying at home and not interacting with family, friends, and neighbors face-to-face will end and we will all give each other big hugs.

But for now, it is our responsibility to take care of one another through social distancing.

So, as I type, my hyper, cooped-up kiddos are video chatting with Oakley at her house since they can't play in person right now. Another thing I'm thankful for during these times: technology! Mitch is still able to go into work and follow the CDC guidline of "no gatherings larger than 10 people." I'm grateful he is still being paid. Many people are not receiving an income right now as businesses have had to close.

I have found this profound amount of down time to be refreshing. The kids and I can connect on a level that we haven't had time to do before. No schedules or places to be really makes us slow down and enjoy one another more (with a healthy dose of needing breaks from each other too :) ). Mitch and I have had opportunities to testify to the kids of the importance of heeding the words of the prophets because "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

It's fascinating to me to watch different people's perspectives and attitudes lately. I have to remind myself that not everyone grew up like I did, going to church and understanding that some day Christ will return to Earth, and before He does, things will be hard. Everything that is going on has been prophesied of for thousands of years. We can read about it in the scriptures. It's all right there. But yet, so many people either don't know, or don't believe. So all of this is amazing and scary to them. Probably partly because they have not had a church leader guiding them to build a food storage, build financial safety, and to be ready for these times.

But to me, these times are amazing! It's exciting and fills me with peace. It's a reminder that God is in charge, that His Son will return to Earth, and that good will prevail over evil. It excites me to think of the work that is still left to be done and I yearn to be a part of it. I don't know when Christ will return to the Earth, but I know that what we are seeing in the world today is not a coincidence. My hope is that it will cause all of us to turn our hearts to Christ, to find peace through Him, and do what is necessary to be personally prepared temporally and spiritually. There is so much good in the world still--I have enjoyed seeing the many Christlike acts of love throughout the last several weeks. I choose to focus on the good, be part of the good, and see the good in others. That feels so much better during these uncertain times than focusing on the bad. It's harder to choose to be and see positive things, but it's definitely worth it.

I'm hoping I can update more in the next few weeks. Right now I need to get back to my kids. We're all a little stir crazy. But happy and in good spirits. We're happy to do this if it helps save some people from getting sick.