A Thank You From Lockdown

Thank you, to the kind pastor who, upon hearing that my mother could find neither lettuce or milk on the barren shelves in her local stores, called her a few hours later to tell her he’d sought it out and had placed it in the church fridge for her to come and retrieve.

Thank you to my neighbors who, in an effort to stave off boredom and isolation, are taping shamrocks in the windows, drawing encouraging messages on their driveways in chalk, and wearing Halloween costumes on jaunts to walk the dog.

Thank you to the health care professionals, truck drivers and food service workers, and all the other “essential” employees who put themselves at risk so the rest of us can still have some semblance of normalcy.

Thank you to the landlords, supervisors, bosses, companies, and employers who are shrugging off unpaid bills and late rents, giving grace in a trying economic time.

Thank you to my supervisor and my coworkers, who make the transition to remote work bearable with silly songs and dogs wandering into the camera view, with determined good humor and sincere questions: “How are you, really?”

Thank you to the students I teach, whose determination to keep doing the work in the face of an entirely upended routine makes me marvel and strive to be an even better instructor for you.

Thank you to my international friends here in America, who face homesickness and an inability to return to your country and worry over your families with such grace and strength that it inspires me to be more like you.

Thank you, pastors and priests and preachers and rectors of all Christian denominations, for letting the world – and isolated believers – see your services and your prayers and your guided chats and supplemental materials online.

Thank you, church, for making your spiritual presence felt in the absence of bodily presence, for being the silent brothers and sisters with whom my husband and I will sit, tomorrow morning, at the kitchen table with an iPad and a candle.

Thank you to my home church, who is sending out letters and emails and phone calls, arranging prayer drives and service missions, and taking its mandate to care for the orphaned and the needy and the widowed with profound seriousness.

Thank you, God, for all these signs of your goodness, for evidence of your presence even in these strange and surreal times – for your comfort, and your provision, and your deep and abiding love.  Remembering who You are makes all things bearable.

If you have some gratitude to share, even in this virtual space, please feel free to add it. Let us think together on what is good, and true, and righteous.  And if I can pray for any of you in any way, please don’t hesitate to let me know here.