Silver Linings

What just happened?  Things were good! People around me were happy.  Worries were few. Weddings were coming. Trips had been planned.  Business was steady. The stock market was soaring. Unemployment was at record lows.  We were doing things. Industry was ginning. Jobs were secure. Bluebonnets were blooming.  Springtime was coming. Toilet paper was plentiful.  

The dramatic changes we’ve all experienced in our lives over the last two weeks have been nothing short of epic.  At times I’ve felt like I’ve somehow been dropped into a terrifying Stephen King novel. The Coronavirus pandemic is shaping up to be one of those historical world events that will have lasting impact on the entire world.  Its effects will likely stay with all of us for the rest of our lives.  

The world’s economy has been stopped in its tracks.  Millions of Americans who are fortunate enough to still have a job are getting used to the new normal of working from home.  Others who are less fortunate are grappling with the impacts of a sudden and complete loss of income, with bills to pay and mouths to feed.  Already-stressed health care workers are digging in for the long haul of helping virus victims survive, while working with limited resources and within the confines of a broken health care system.  People all over the world are suffering and, sadly, many thousands will die.  

This is bad.  Real bad. There’s no way to sugar coat it.  But could it be that there is a silver lining to be found in all of this?  

Toward the end of last week this started to really sink in for me.  I grew weary from hearing all the heart-breaking news stories, the frightening predictions about how this will spread further, and the ineptitude of our government’s response.  I began to miss the normalcy of simple things like going to church, seeing our friends, dining out, handshakes, and hugs. I saw videos of crazy people fighting in a grocery store over toilet paper.  For my own sanity, I decided that I would begin to actively search for some good news, some optimism, some humor and some hope in all this.  Believe it or not, I found it!  Things like:

• Watching people sing Happy Birthday to their elderly neighbor from the curb, as she sat on her front porch
• How the world was heartened by the scenes of Italians opening their windows each evening to sing their national anthem together, and to applaud their health care workers
• How the emissions of carbon gases in some parts of the world have reduced by more than 50% in the past few weeks
• Hearing that mortgage companies, insurance companies and financial institutions all over the western world have pledged to work with and help those who have been financially affected by this
• Hearing about those examples of sacrifice and generosity from both businesses and individuals that have renewed my confidence in humankind
• Seeing good, old-fashioned ingenuity and creativity within our American small businesses community bring about new solutions, helping to fill in gaps where critical shortages exist

Despite the devastation, hardship and sadness this pandemic is bringing upon us, there are in fact some Silver Linings to be found here.  All over the world, we’re seeing and hearing about ways in which humans are helping other humans, with love, generosity and compassion.  Here in America, I believe the severity of the damage from these strange times and events has brought out the good in people again, that old “we’re all in this together” attitude that we seem to have lost as Americans.  I feel political and social fences coming down, intolerance being erased, and cooperation coming back into our society.  

You may have seen the pictures in the news this week of the “floating city” of Venice, Italy.  For decades, the waters of Venice have been a murky, chocolate brown, with marine wildlife almost non-existent.  When Italy began feeling the devastating effects of the Coronavirus, the city of Venice, like all of Italy, was put on total lock-down.  Tourism came to a halt. The iconic gondolas which have been a major tourist draw for decades were moored. Cruise ships were prohibited from docking.  Motorboats were almost non-existent. As a result of this sudden paralysis, the constant churning of the sandy Venetian canals was brought to a halt. Within a few days, the waters became blue and clear.  Shoals of fish and crabs were visible. Cormorants have returned to dive for the fish they can now see. Ducks have begun nesting.  

What’s happening in Venice is a prime example of the Silver Linings I think we will see from the Coronavirus pandemic.  As things spiral down and the world has a forced “reboot”, I believe that things will be revealed to us about our activities and practices in the world’s economy, society and environment.  Our eyes are about to be opened, and if we pay attention, we might just see how far off track we’ve gotten. We might just decide to not go back to where we were!  

In Venice, for example, city leaders have had their eyes opened to just how much Venice has sacrificed, over decades, all in the name of tourism and dollars.  They are already discussing how the city might just be different when their economy restarts, including plans to limit boat traffic, cruise ships, even tourism.  They are witnessing what it is like to see nature taking back possession of the city’s waters, and they have a renewed desire to recover the unique, forgotten biosphere they live in.  This could lead to an entire re-balancing of tourism with nature there, and an improved quality of life in the city.  

I have hope that our eyes will be opened to see other revelations as well.  The coming economic downturn will be very damaging to people all over the world.  But perhaps it will also reveal to us where we’ve slowly gone overboard through the years.  Perhaps we don’t go fully back to where we were before this reboot started. Perhaps we will have revealed to us that it might be relatively easy to tweak things now, with the reboot, to reduce pollution, carbon gas emissions, and set the stage for us to do better this time around with the limited resources we have.  Perhaps it might be revealed to us, if we keep our eyes open, how our health care systems can finally be fixed once and for all.  

Socially, perhaps it will be revealed to us as we spiral down just how much better off we are when we work together, stop hating each other so much, and re-learn the definition of the word compromise.  As our nation gets used to working in isolation for a while, it seems as if we’re all being sent to our corners for being mean to each other. And I’m beginning to realize that “social distancing” is not such a new concept.  We’ve been allowing that practice to expand into our society for several years now, with our dependence on our gadgets and our cold, digital ways of communicating. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like this “social distancing” thing.  I miss sitting at a dinner table with friends, just talking about life. When this reboot is over, I’m definitely going to end my social distancing.  

We’re coming up on Easter (have you forgotten?).  As we look in these dark times for signs of hope, reassurance, and security, let’s not forget about how the darkest of times became the brightest of times, one Easter 2,000 years ago.  Christian author Max Lucado recently wrote this prayer for these times:

What we’re seeing on the news, you saw on that Friday so long ago. Innocence interrupted. Goodness suffering. Mothers weeping. Just as the darkness fell on your Son, we fear the darkness falling on our friends, our family, our world. Just as our world has been shaken by a  disease, our world was shaken the day the very child of Eternity was pierced.  

You saw it. But you did not waver, O Lord. You did not waver. After your Son’s three days in a dark hole, you rolled the rock and rumbled the earth and turned the darkest Friday into the brightest Sunday. Do it again, Lord. Grant us another Easter.  

And we see the world turning to you, Father.  People encouraging people with scriptures and reminders of your sovereignty. We read posts urging us to respect each other, care for each other, and look up. We confess we have been anxious, but because of you, we have hope.  

We ask, Father: let your mercy be upon all who suffer.  Grant to those who lead us wisdom beyond their years and experience.  Have mercy upon the souls who have been hurt by this disease. Give us grace to help each other and faith that we might believe.

(You can enjoy his full article and prayer here):

https://maxlucado.com/promotions/please-lord-do-it-again/     

Perhaps the greatest Silver Lining of them all will be that, in these dark times, we as a nation turn back to the one source of hope that never wavers and is always in control, Jesus Christ.  I pray that my family and friends will stay well through this, keep the faith, and be on the look out for the Silver Linings!