Being Prepared

It’s been an interesting week, while at the beginning the biggest hurdle was the thought of assimilating to the time change as the week progressed the fear of COVID-19 contagion escalated and everything was about staying sanitized.  I’ve never been one to lose my peace over the annual health scares, but as the week progressed and the fear of people continued to escalate – I realized that at times like this having a strong relationship with God really helps avoid panic.  Most of the preventative measures that are being taken around the country are for our safety.  It’s good to be prepared the Gospel tells us so.  I call to mind the “Parable of the Ten Virgins” who wait for their bridegroom, of the ten only five are prepared and thus rewarded.  During the Middle Ages this parable was extremely popular being the subject of many pieces of art.  The theme of being prepared for Judgement Day resonated with people of this time.  Today, in the culture of “Good Vibes,” death is not a popular subject; thus, when things out of our control happen, things that push us to stare death in the face there’s a rise to panic. 

On Tuesday, I was told that Antioch University was on the verge of closing down due to the pandemic and yesterday after teetertottering all day at work my school finally decided to shut down physically and work on staying open virtually.  Next week, we will have training on how to teach virtually because we are a non-traditional school and no pandemic will stop our kids from graduating!  While the whole virus situation hasn’t given me any anxiety the thought of going virtual has me on edge because we have a difficult student population that require constant coaching and from a virtual setting am not sure how successful they will be.  I also have a few kids who don’t own a computer or have internet access at home so next week all these worries will hopefully be addressed.  I hate change, just when I was beginning to find my groove at work, now I need to learn to teach in a different platform and one of my weaknesses is technology.  Computers have never been my friends.  

A friend texted me yesterday overwhelmed by the effects of the virus at her work and I thought how fitting that this is happening during a time of penance, when we take on discomfort and offer it up to the Lord.  A time when we reflect on the Passion of Christ on his agony and eventually our salvation.  Things might get more strange before scientist develop a cure, but I sure am happy that God is in my heart and that the lessons I learned during the light are guiding me during the night.