It is almost time for the dreaded and very weird time of lockdown in South Africa, following suit with many other countries during this pandemic. It really is the stuff movies are made of and this time it is far from make-believe. The closer we get to midnight the more uneasy I feel and it has not helped to have a 3-year-old who just came out of a crazy fever for a few days. And no it isn’t “that” virus.
My wife has been running around town trying to get stuff sorted before it goes all apocalypse here in our small town while this time I’ve been caring for a sick child. Let me point out that I get a little stressed when our boy gets sick and my demeanor can get somewhat rude for which I apologize continuously. I feel I have to say this. Maybe it’s another attempt at saying sorry babes! This morning with Ben feeling way better I tried to read a little but not very successfully because now it was playtime again after two days. For days I was busy with stress and now I was busy with, well, a busy toddler.
What I did read was this paragraph from a book by Matt Knisely called Framing Faith.
“Stories reverberate and embed themselves in our shared memory. They may not immediately change our lives, but they descend deep into our fabric and rest there. They settle and grow and then when the time is just right, they begin to do their work. Stories influence. They motivate, and they direct us from the outside in, surfacing and returning to remembrance as we experience new stories and life experiences. Stories shape us.”
Let this forced new rhythm of having to stay home be a time when we catch up as families and share those untold stories that we as parents or grandparents have so many of. Let's not take stories to the grave one day that might be the very anchor or guiding light our children will need when we aren’t around anymore. Let’s tell our life stories at home, at meals, over Skype or Whatsapp. We have the time and the means to.
This time of physical isolation is far from social isolation and thanks to technology many of us can capitalize on this forced rest. Many of us are allowed to be together at home. What a blessing during a very stressful and fearful time.
The above are all nice and cuddly but I do want us to take time to also think of and pray for those who are most vulnerable in the context of South Africa during this pandemic. And please do the same for our people on the frontlines like our police, first responders, nurses, doctors, hospital staff and more. They are literally keeping us safe however they can.
Oh and about the photo: I dedicate this post to the humble bog roll which has been one of our most comforting “security blankies” the last few weeks.
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