Coronavirus has given us an opportunity.

You might question why I would say such a thing since it seems like coronavirus is taking things away from us. But when putting some thought into it, I can come up with a very lengthy list of things we have been given.  Here are a few:

Coronavirus has given us the opportunity to confront and remember our mortality. We often live day-to-day taking so much for granted, including the very breath we breathe. We now have an opportunity to take stock of what would happen if coronavirus was to come for us. Is each of us ready to stand before God? Have we accepted the atonement and forgiveness offered to us by Jesus’ death on the cross? This is an issue we need to settle now and not just wait until coronavirus comes to our community. Our lives can be over in an instant, this very day, for any reason. We need to be ready.

But there are other opportunities coronavirus has given us:

It has given us the opportunity to be grateful for the things we have—from basic essentials we can pick up at the store, to the freedoms we have to move around from place to place, to the relationships we have with one another.

It has given us the opportunity to pray: to pray for those who are sick and suffering with the virus even now; to pray for the families who are grieving the loss of their loved ones; to pray for the medical community, the scientific community, and those in leadership who have to make some difficult decisions.

And if we have been (or will be) put into quarantine with our families, we have the opportunity to savor this time with our loved ones—who will not always be within arm’s reach.

Coronavirus has given us an opportunity to think outside of ourselves: to remember that there are many who cannot even get to the store to pick up toilet paper—because they struggle with health issues every day, because they do not have the finances to do so, because they do not have the freedom to do so, because such a luxury does not exist in their world.

Coronavirus has given us an opportunity to take care of others: perhaps we can assist financially for those who are being impacted economically, perhaps we can make a run to the store for those who cannot, perhaps we can help with childcare for those impacted by school shutdowns. What is it that each of us can do? Because there is something we can do.

I hope we take advantage of this opportunity we have been given: to care for our eternal souls, our bodies, our perspectives, and the communities with which we are surrounded. May this opportunity not be wasted.

©Text and photo Francee Strain, March 12, 2020