We asked some of our staff and Dream Team to write a letter to their “March 1st Selves”. There’s something healing about taking time to acknowledge both the pain and the joys of this season, and constructing them into a meaningful narrative. This has been a hopeful exercise, and we hope you enjoy reading them as we post them over the next little while. If you’re up for it, grab a pen and paper and try writing one to yourself! What comes up may surprise you. - Relate
Dear Claire,
You know how you do those online Angus Reid polls that ask about your opinions and ideas about society regularly? Well those questionnaires are about to get real weird soon. That’s because the whole world is about to turn upside down.
From South Africa to Italy to China to Canada, everything is going to be different. And your own little world too - your family and personal network.
Curious? Yeah, you should be. It’s all due to a global pandemic - a virus that is highly contagious and has caused the world to hunker down. Schools, restaurants, businesses, libraries and even your husband’s workplace will be shut. It’s a wild time.
But through this all, God will never leave your side. In fact, Holy Spirit will have a presence in your life in new and unique ways - guiding you through the turmoil of a husband out of work, and revealing the importance of His truths.
At first, you are going to feel angry with your husband after being together 24/7. This is going to be one the hardest times of your marriage and that’s saying something - you know all the tough things you’ve survived together already.
Yet, neither of you are going to let this strange situation rock your marriage. You and your nearest and dearest are going to get praying and God is going to move. You and James will work out a routine for spending days together and apart. You will discover new things about each other, have some big conversations, and connect like never before.
Enough about your marriage though.
There’s one thing in your life that feels insignificant right now. However, you are soon going to miss it like crazy. Interestingly, the Angus Reid polls are going to report on it.
Around mid April (several weeks into the lockdown) you are going to see results that the number one thing people in BC are most looking forward to doing once the virus is over is giving hugs.
Check it out here: http://angusreid.org/covid19-back-to-normal/
Now you might be thinking - of all the things that we want after being stuck in our homes for weeks on end is simply to embrace a friend or loved one? Really?
It’s true.
You will desperately wish you could hug your close friend who sadly will have a miscarriage at 11 weeks. Instead, all you are able to do is drop off Dairy Queen at her front door.
Then, you will want to give your little goddaughter a hug on her first birthday. Doing a "drive by" and dropping a present off in her driveway doesn’t feel nearly as good as a cuddle.
Additionally, you will wish you could comfort your cousin who has been wanting to get married for over 10 years and finally after getting engaged, her wedding will be postponed until next summer. Being her maid of honor and chatting on the app House Party simply isn’t as satisfying as greeting her at her door with an old fashioned hug commiserating over crappy life situations.
I guess what I want you to remember is not to take for granted the beauty and importance of human connection. It's more apparent than ever that God has intricately designed us for community and intimacy in relationships. Hugs and hellos when greeting at church are not just a perfunctory duty. They are truly life giving.
So go ahead and give everyone you love a hug. Heck, go ahead and hug anyone you think wants or needs one.
That’s it for now.
Until next time,
Claire
