This Week

From the Corona Files

So this is the week I would have been going to Grand Rapids for the Festival of Faith & Writing. Instead I’m sitting at home. Last week I realized that when I opened up my non-fiction project, made changes, and saved it—that I’d accidentally “wrote” over my file—thus the stuff I’d saved earlier before going on coronavirus hiatus was lost.

Is any of this making sense?

And, the only two “jobs” I’ve had lately: 1) running deliveries to our front desk upstairs to people in lockdown and 2) volunteering at the homeless shelter, serving dinner once a week—I will likely be giving up as I’ve been deemed high-risk.

Does my life feel insignificant? Small? Yes.

Even Thomas Merton at his hermitage (within Gethsemani Abbey) in Kentucky was able to work in his garden, break the intense isolation by walking down the hill.

They say these next two weeks could be the worst (been hearing this for awhile) and that perhaps by early May things might loosen a bit. For right now, we wear masks when outside or in the lobby or common areas, constantly wash hands, and only go outside to take exercise or “necessary” errands. I’d like to think that someday we will look back on 2020 and be able to say—remember that time we all had to stay inside.

*Pray I can get started back to my project and remember the stuff that was lost—a horrible thing to happen.