Quarantine-
a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals
that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.
A time when some of the funniest videos I’ve ever seen have been posted.
A time when the world has gone quiet.
A time when families are spending more time together than ever before.
A time when panic has caused a shortage on toilet paper.
A time when America rises to the occasion.
Quarantine.
A time when businesses are making masks.
A time when neighbors are checking on neighbors.
A time when God was invited into the White House.
A time when a dear friend prays the Rosary every night asking for God to heal this land.
A time when schools are closed and homeschooling is now the norm.
A time when we are so grateful for technology.
A time when a house party lasts all day
I am not making light of the intensity of this time or the seriousness of this virus
or the devastating effects of the Quarantine on the economy.
I am seeking the good in an otherwise uncertain time.
We have played games and watched a Netflix series together.
We have prayed and discussed many issues.
We’ve listened and fought and listened some more.
I have honestly loved the time this quarantine has created.
My farmer had been in a terrible spiral of deep depression; the Joy Thief wreaking havoc.
Causing us to make difficult decisions.
At one point the Joy Thief was so deep we needed to go to once a day milking.
Repairs went undone.
Projects ceased.
For me the dream died.
All that we are together.
Faded.
Gone.
Survival was all that mattered.
Pay the bills.
Keep the house warm.
Make sure the kids were ok.
Food on the table.
Bills piled up as milk production took another hit.
And I felt alone for the first time in my life.
I knew God was there. . .But He was very quiet.
I wrestled daily with what have I done wrong?
Where have I messed up?
I begged and pleaded with God to forgive me.
I begged him to relieve us of the weight of the bills and the farm life.
We called the cattle dealer to unload this burden.
Only to find out that this investment of cows, this collateral, is basically worth nothing.
If we sell, we have no income.
The sale of the cows will not nearly cover our debt.
I felt numb.
How do you work so hard all your life to end up with nothing?
My farmer slipped further and further.
He slept most of the days; longing to be warm.
The nightmare spun out of control.
I daily fought back tears.
I made phone calls to people way smarter than I.
We met with people who could help us make an exit strategy.
With my farmer so sick it was hard to make this type of a decision.
I prayed for wisdom.
I prayed for a miracle.
I prayed for grace.
We met with doctors and began to get my farmer some serious help.
And then the Corona virus hit.
Quarantine.
Causing the world to slow down.
We lost all our income from our Air b n b which had been supplementing our income.
So many have similar stories.
Quarantine.
And for me. . . it was a blessing.
The kids came home and the house took on a life of its own.
With two essential workers in the home, we were in uncharted territory.
How do we keep them safe?
How do we keep my farmer safe?
He is one of the vulnerable.
Yet, as we navigated the days of the quarantine, I realized once again how strong and resilient my farmer is.
True grit and determination can get you through many situations.
Even at his lowest he was looking for a solution.
It was hard, and I never want to go through that again.
But I learned so much about perseverance.
It is so easy to give up.
It is so easy for me to be over whelmed by the circumstances around me.
It is often hard to shut out the demands of all that we see.
Sometimes we need to just take a step back and refocus.
God knows what is happening.
He has never left our side.
There are lessons to learn.
Ways in the darkness to be made.
There is hope.
There was an engagement during the Quarantine.
Hope.
We began to have a plan for the farm.
Hope.
My farmer is doing much better thanks to great medical care, God’s grace and good medicine combinations.
There is always hope.
Always.
It just may come in the form of a Pandemic and forced quarantine.
Look.
It may come in the form of a front porch visit.
Be open.
It may come in the brilliance of a night sky.
Wait.
It may come in the hope of a newly engaged couple.
Dig deep during these unsettling times.
God is working.
He will use this time for good.
Even when hard things happen.
He will work His purposes: despite the hard.
Hold onto to hope.
