The past couple of days I have been thinking about how CoVid has affected churches across the country, and how it has affected the church I attend. I call it ‘my’ church because I have been an active member for some 14 or 15 years and I think of it as my extended family. The members are people I care about and I miss due to the pandemic. It’s been over a year since we have worshiped in a normal way, and since we have been able to get together and do all the usual social, charitable, and community events like we used to do. Although my church has gotten back to having worship services open (with changes of course – safety measures in place – masking, sitting apart, no bulletins, etc.) we are nowhere close to what we were before CoVid 19 turned all our worlds upside down.
Sometimes I wonder if we will get back. If it can happen, I wonder how long it might take to get back to how we were before we had to change our lives due to CoVid. So many people have changed their habits, and they have learned to watch church services via Zoom and YouTube. Many have gotten used to staying in their pajamas. They can watch ‘live’ or can pull up a service online when it’s convenient. But there is no interacting. No greetings.
My heart breaks for the time lost, and for the connections lost when we had to stop meeting in person. The church community has taken a hard hit due to this.
I am a member of a couple of closed groups on Facebook. They are made up of women of like minds, women who are caring, open, forward thinking. The group is a safe place to speak out. Some have written about being married to a man who has gotten wrapped up in the false theories and who believe in the ‘big lie.’ Some are planning to exit from the marriage. Some posts have stories about other family members who are stern, unbending, and are also lost in the Trump mess. But, what got me so hard this morning was reading a post from a mother of a 12 year old daughter. They live in a red area and the children have all taken ‘sides’ after listening to their parents talk at home. This mother said her daughter has lost friends and is lonely -due to politics, but also due to the pandemic. She, and other people who post, have said that they are considering moving out of red areas, and finding a place to live that is more accepting, where people are more open-minded.
As I think about the children I again feel so sad. They live in a world now where CoVid/politics has infiltrated into all parts of their lives – from school, church, to friends circles. They are already living a life of solitude due to virtual school, and now they have parents’ political and CoVid differences dividing them.
I’m also wondering about the real estate industry. Do real estate agents now give red vs. blue statistics when people are searching for a new home? Do buyers come right out and ask? And do agents tell sellers to put away their Trump and “Don’t Tread on Me” flags? I’d love to hear from my real estate friends on how this has become an issue for them.
We know now that the political sides are actively boycotting businesses. And some businesses are hurting due to CoVid restrictions. It is happening everywhere, but the large corporations based in Georgia have been called out, and have had to support a side. CoVid changed how we voted in the last Presidential election. The idea was to make it easier and SAFER for Americans to be able to vote. But it also made it easier to create the ‘big lie’ that then created an even bigger division.
I wonder what history books (ebooks- ha!) will say about this time. Our ancestors in America have certainly gone through times of severe division in the past – due to skin color, to geography, to financial ability. But, a pandemic and a huge political division happening together like this seems pretty unique. I don’t feel like we have stepped up and tried to overcome it well. Ugliness is showing. We have drawn lines and lost personal connections.
For me personally CoVid has taken away temporarily my joy of live concerts. When it first hit I had tickets to the CMA four day festival in Nashville, and I had tickets to two Tim McGraw concerts in North Carolina. I have been a dedicated live music lover – and it was always something I looked forward to experiencing. I loved hearing and seeing musicians coming together to put on a ‘moment in time’ that raises the hairs on my arm. I loved being in an audience of mutually feeling people. For that time we became family. We united and understood it together, and we let the music be more important than anything else. I was driving the other day in my car listening to music, thinking back to all the artists I have had the pleasure to see in concert… I miss it very much. I can not wait until I can be there again.
We all need to come together with a common cause – for a common belief, or interest. CoVid has prevented it from happening. The impact we have seen is great and the healing and the ‘getting back to normal’ will take quite awhile.
Churches are hurting. Families and children are hurting. Businesses are hurting. Everyone is hurting.
Marla’s Musings 