Saturday, March 28, 2020

Faith, TP and Peanut M&Ms

Yippee Ki-Yay!
Back in the days when I roamed the streets freely, wandered the large aisles of Walmart at will, and naively stood arm-lengths distance from friends and neighbors (i.e. two-weeks ago), I started to see the first pangs of Corona V's effect in grocery stores. I had heard rumors that toilet paper was hard to find, but I thought people were exaggerating. It seemed so ridiculously hard to believe—way back then.


Party time!
Then I experienced my first moment of pandemic panic. Wheeling my cart past the dairy section of my local grocery, I took a hard left into the paper goods aisle. I didn’t particularly need to buy more toilet paper, but thought “better safe than sorry.” Too late. The shelves were empty.


I had not seen empty store shelves before. The egg selection sometimes gets sketchy at Halloween and Easter, and I have had to settle for medium eggs instead of large, which I previously found rather annoying. But really, in my small-town, central NY community, we are blessed with a bounty of food sources, from large stores to local produce stands and farmers' markets. And though far from rich (by American standards), I have never had to worry about where my next meal will come from.

So as I stood in front of the empty shelves of TP past, I got spooked. No more TP. I backed out of the aisle and quickly turned down another lane and into the candy section. There gleaming on the shelf was an industrial size bag of peanut M&Ms. I grabbed it. If I was going down with this pandemic, I was going down happily supplied with peanut M&Ms.

Bawk!


That was one of my last shopping trips. Deemed a “vulnerable” member of society, I have since been sequestered at home. Totally fine. I’m not complaining about that. I have a home, food, and so far enough tp. And oddly, I am more “social” now than before the new safety rules. Most of my friends are home more too and we have been following the hilarious trend of dressing up our toilets and texting each other our pics. It’s good, light-hearted fun.



But like everyone else, there are moments when the anxiety associated with this virus ramps up. Hearing about acquaintances contracting Corona-V and struggling in hospitals is sobering, as is the awareness that the danger of Corona-V is very real. And I worry about the same things that everyone else is worrying about, for myself, my friends and family.
I'm Olaf & I like warm hugs.

I understand the hoarding, stock-piling, and even my absurd, mammoth purchase of M&Ms. When our world changes, we want to cling to what we can, something, a life raft in the chaos, like a well-stocked bathroom and pantry full of dry goods. The other options are too uncomfortable to consider. And the personal losses and death tolls—terrifying.

So, what can we hold onto in this time of uncertainty? Where can we find permanent, unchanging, solid ground?

In God, our loving Father.

God brings true security. He loves us. That is unchanging. He desires a relationship with us. Again, unchanging. He is ever present, all powerful, all knowing, and all loving. He doesn’t promise prosperity or worldly comforts (note Jesus’ own life), but does promise something better. Himself. His presence.

He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

And, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not reap or store away in barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

And one of my favorites: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

God’s arms are everlasting, and we can run into his eternal embrace.


***All photos are courtesy of my wonderful friends, 
whose bathrooms shall remain anonymous.*** 

So dance, dance, dance
 and
… just keep swimming.

(PS - To my FB friends, I am still on hiatus until April 1.)

2 comments:

  1. I love how you are keeping your sense of humor! And your faith!

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    Replies
    1. Both are so vital right now. Thank you, and God bless!

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