Essential Thoughts During the Pandemic

This world is taking notice, considering one another. 

Maybe...

Because, we have to.

We've been mandated...

and separated into essential groups. 

Isolated. 

And some essentials have emptied off 

Our familiar shelves, bare

Surfaces exposed,

Surfaces wiped clean

Again and again.

To be cleansed is a good thing.

Humanity rises up to meet the challenge

And we're doing things, amazing things

in our pajama bottoms

With wild, untamed hair

And wild, semi-tamed kiddos at our feet. 

New words and catch phrases in our vocabulary

Begin to define who we are

Right now--but not forever, right? 

Quarantine-fifteen, Zoom meeting, 

Flatten the curve, 

Face masks

and...Asymtomatic.

I've got it...

I just don't know,

Testing.

Shelter in place, containment,

Social distancing,

Tic-Toc...

Tick-Tock

Furlough, Layoff,

Depression, recession

Can't get a deep breath...

Just breathe. 

I've been tested--

Tested and Tried, 

Tired of it all. 

Are we praying more?

More or less, I hope, yes. 

Are we living more?

One might say no, while another

might say, -- might have missed her first word,

That cousin reunion on Zoom,

The hummingbird nest...

The new organizational skills aquired,

The amazing desserts and bread baking

Filling the air with an aroma one can remember.

The garden planted this Spring,

The artist discovered within.

The metaphors are endless

And this virus, relentless.

Now one can deny that this time

Will leave a picture on our heart canvas.

Are we, as humanity still open?

Is the meaning of our lives cancelled?

Or can we take what we've learned, what we've lost, 

And make the best of it and appreciate so much more? 

White roses seem to illuminate in the dark

But one needs to take the time to see them, really look,

Open the Good Book.

Celebrations, graduations

Weddings and Reunions

Plays and concerts

Baseball, Olympians... 

Vacations,

Commmunion

We were created to fellowship with one another,

Cheer each other on--

Break Bread

Make memories,

Remember.

Six feet apart

But never our heart.

Be kind, Be the kind that makes a difference. 

Paint a rock and rock

Those Yoga pants.

Smile at your Grocery clerk

Leave a soda for the Amazon guy 

Cover those rants. Disinfect your mind. 

Breathe and take notice of our stay-at-home, 

Wild hair days as a time we discovered 

So much more. 

Yes, we've lost
But what we gain can
Make a difference in
you, me...
Eternity.

Hummingbird babies hatched yesterday

A baby Praying mantis in my garden 

My friend Darren Rivera has discovered acrylics on canvas. This is a painting of the
Chain Bridge in Budapest, Hungary. He is a gifted musician leading us in worship every week,
but learning and stretching in COVID-19 time.

This is me! I need a haircut!

Here is the second batch of essential health workers painted rocks I created.
A crew of 15 for Emergency room nurse Tanya West (daughter of our bff, Blake)
at InterCommunity Hospital, Covina.

White roses "illuminated" at night,
HOPE IN THE DARKNESS 

Considerably Yours,

Coleene VanTilburg