“While God, for the most part, allows this cosmos [creation] to work according to the laws of nature, there is never a time when He is not actively involved in every detail of life.”
―
ICYMI
We have two new articles up on TheReb! One from Ashish Matthew about “Glorifying God with Your COVID-19 Quarantine.”
And the other is a fun little video from a family who rewrote the lyrics of “He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands” to fit with the chaos we’re facing these days.
New Numbers
The total case count worldwide is over 350,000. 15,000 deaths and 100,000 recoveries.
The US now has the third highest number of total cases with over 35,000 and nearly 500 deaths. I was looking at the John Hopkins Cases Maps, which I think may be slower than real-time, but New York state has the vast majority of confirmed cases in the US. Five percent (17,000) of cases worldwide are in New York State. The next regions on the top of the list are Washington state, New Jersey, and California each just under 2,000 cases.
Italy’s numbers are still skyrocketing with 60,000 cases and 5,400 deaths. That’s a mortality rate just under 10%. They’re approaching China’s total number of cases which is hard to fathom because China has a population twenty times that of Italy. (It should be noted that Italy’s population is the second oldest in the world.)
Of course, these numbers are hard to read accurately since not nearly everyone who actually has COVID-19 has been or even will be tested.
Before I jump into the news…
It’s hard to gauge how people are feeling right now.
Do you feel a lot of apprehension about the next coming weeks and need encouragement and support? Or do you need motivation to help you get things done even through the chaos and uncertainty? Or do you need more convincing to take this seriously?
I hope for three things.
First, I hope you are taking this seriously. Medical professionals and scientists are telling us to take it seriously and to stay home as much as possible and we should heed their warning.
Second, I hope we can allow this crisis to teach us how to embrace the sad, hard, painful, lonely parts of the human experience. Sometimes it’s easy for Western Christians to immediately jump to the happy, joyful, “we have hope in Jesus” without properly grieving the painful and disappointing aspects of life.
It’s good and healthy to allow yourself to feel the full weight of disappointment from cancelled plays and recitals and family vacations. It’s good to be crushed by the fact that you can’t hangout with your friends in person.
These are emotions that God gave us and they partly serve to remind us that we’re alive and that this world is not our destination.
And lastly, I want you to feel the weight of the grief, yes, but I don’t want you to despair. I want you to feel hopeful about life. To dream about what could still be.
Yes, these next days, weeks, and year is going to be hard. We probably don’t even know the full extent of how hard it’s going to be. But there is also a lot of good coming for us yet, too. And we should hold onto that hope even as we walk through our grief.
Now, on with the news…
Teens Coughing on Produce
Two teens reportedly went into a grocery store and filmed themselves coughing into their sleeves around produce and other patrons.
I’m not going to make any comment other than this should be self-evidently … stupid.
Abandoned Streets in India
There’s a fascinating Twitter thread of streets in India going eerily quiet during self-imposed curfew to fight coronavirus.
Senator Tested Positive for COVID-19
Senator Rand Paul became the first US senator to test positive for coronavirus
Twitter thread, Associated Press). Senator Paul joins Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Ben McAdams as Congressmen who have tested positive for the virus.
Democrats Block Stimulus Rescue Bill
Speaking of Senators, according to The New York Times, “Senate Democrats on Sunday blocked action on an emerging deal to prop up an economy devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, paralyzing the progress of a nearly $2 trillion government rescue package they said failed to adequately protect workers or impose strict enough restrictions on bailed-out businesses.”
The Olympics
Also, unsurprisingly, the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo are likely to be postponed. Canada is even threatening to boycott if they don’t.
President Trump offered aid to North Korea
Per the New York Times, President Trump has sent a letter to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, expressing his willingness to help the North battle the coronavirus, North Korea said on Sunday.
Helpful Social (Physical) Distancing Tips
I find this whole thing and I am an introvert who works from home a lot.
But, from what I’ve experienced (and I even did a bit of reading and will put some links in the article), here are some tips to help you stay sane over the next few weeks.
#1 I believe the most important thing to remember is to keep calm, take time to breathe–you probably won’t get as much done as you typically would–but keep a structure.
Now, I’m not naturally prone to keeping a structure. I like winging things and going by my gut and emotion–but even I know that’s not healthy and it’s a great way to get into terrible habits.
The reality remains that your life is going to naturally deteriorate over time and that’s going to make you discouraged and frustrated and only need to work harder in the future. Also, it’s really important that you get good sleep in order to be able to function and get things done, but also to help stave off sickness. So, you’re gonna want to keep routines in place.
Now, this doesn’t have to be complicated or super detailed.
One way that I’m putting structure in my life is to create a bucket list of things I want to get done during this time so I have an idea of what I want to do generally. And then I use that list to plan my days as they come.
This may not be the best way I could do it and it may not be a good fit for you, but it gives me a big picture to follow while allowing me day-to-day freedom and variety.
How are you guys doing during quarantine? What things are you doing to stay sane during this time?
