My Thoughts On the Coronavirus Pandemic

UPDATE 03/15/2020: In just the few days since I published this post, things have continued to change rapidly for us locally. In order to make sure my post doesn’t come off as having a flippant attitude toward the Coronavirus pandemic, I’ve made a few updates to the original post to ensure it reflects the gravity of impact this virus is having.

Much love, Cass

It has completely taken over the news and most social media platforms: the Coronavirus and its upgraded status to global pandemic. This morning I awoke to the news that President Trump has closed our borders to travelers from the European Union, the NBA has suspended its season, and Tom Hanks and his wife have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Additionally, our local Walmart is nearly sold out of toilet paper and baby wipes.

To say this Coronavirus pandemic feels more like a bizarre scene from a contagion-type movie than real life is an understatement.

The thing is, I’ve been teaching kiddos in China online all throughout their quarantine over the past couple of months, so I’ve tried to keep myself as updated as possible on how it was affecting life there, how my students and their families were fairing, and what the actual illness entailed. I’ve watched my normally calm and attentive students become restless and distracted as they remained in complete lockdown (some not even able to go outside) for 20 days…30 days…40 days. I’ve prayed for protection and healing over my students, and I’ve hoped that we’d be able to avoid it spreading beyond China’s borders.

And in all honestly, I kind of lived in this “it’s happening over there” mentality. Between the daily demands of keeping three young children alive and healthy and my desire to avoid the far-too-dramatic news outlets, I was able to maintain optimism that the outbreak would remain in China.

Watching the virus spread around the world has been surreal. But watching the absolute panic and hysteria in our own country has been a bit unnerving.

The Coronavirus Pandemic | Wondering How Bad it Will Get

Like most people, once Blaise and I learned the symptoms of the virus and who is most affected by it, we were quickly reassured that our little family will likely be okay, even if we happen to contract it.

However, we obviously have loved ones who do fall into the highest risk groups, which makes the spread of the virus more concerning. And we know that’s true for a lot of people. So even though we aren’t personally worried about getting COVID-19 (and we’re especially thankful that children seem to be the least affected), we know how important it is to be wise and protect the elderly, the immunocompromised, and the chronically ill.

We also know that if this thing truly gets as bad as some health experts fear that it might (and certainly did in China), then our healthcare system may become too overburdened to effectively treat patients who have serious enough complications to require hospitalization. An overtaxed healthcare system has implications that will reach far and wide. And goodness, I can’t imagine being a healthcare professional on the frontlines of this thing.

Then there are the economic effects that it has already had. In the earlier days of the quarantine in China, fellow VIPKID teachers and I wondered how on earth the parents of our students were handling things. Were they able to continue working? If not, how long would they be able to sustain their households? How are they buying food and other necessities? What about the larger economy in China? With all of those workers not able to continue with production, surely their economy would take a larger hit.

And now we’re basically faced with the same questions here in our own country. And I’m not going to lie, that’s the bit that probably scares me the most. How bad will things get? How long will it last? Should we join the masses of people stocking up for an eventual forced quarantine? And what if Blaise cannot go to work? How do we keep our family afloat if everything shuts down and we’re quarantined long-term?

Because the fact is, even if we’re not worried about our own personal risk of developing serious complications from the virus, the economic consequences could be quite large.

Or not.

But no one really knows, and I think that’s the part that is so scary.

Over the past few days, I have felt the icy tentacles of fear grip my heart a few times. And honestly, the fear kind of caught me off guard.

But seeing the stock market fall so quickly this week and hearing mention of “recession” sparked the first fears. We managed to survive the Great Recession without really experiencing much hardship. But we know we’re not immune. And now with three children and only one full-time income, our situation feels a bit more precarious than it did back in 2007 when it was just Blaise and I – no dependents, both working full-time, and a really lovely nest egg as an extra layer of security.

Hearing that our borders are now closed to Europe was also unnerving. I can’t put my finger on why, exactly, that shook me so much. But it did. It feels like the first step in what is about to be a really wild ride that’s completely out of our control. How far will the efforts to contain this thing go?

And maybe that’s it. I have no control over this and the future suddenly feels really uncertain. As someone with a Type A personality, I don’t like either of those things (and I ignore the fact that I never actually have control nor do I ever know the future, but that’s besides the point). But despite how I feel about it, this is our current reality.

So now we have to decide how we will respond to this virus, to the economical implications, and to our neighbors, who are experiencing the same fears and questions we are.

Keeping My Hope In Jesus (& My Hands Washed)

I’m reminded of the J.K. Rowling quote from one of the Harry Potter books,

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

And we’ve certainly seen what fear of a name can do: store shelves are bare, hand sanitizer is selling online for $50+, and people are selling off stocks like crazy. Fear of a name.

As a follower of Jesus, my response is supposed to be different. Yes? This morning, after I felt the fear bubble up, I immediately went to my Heavenly Father in prayer. “Lord, I know you don’t give us a spirit of fear…”

And He doesn’t.

It feels like the world is going crazy. I don’t even watch the news, but I read it online (where I can control the flow and weed out the drama). There is a lot of fear and panic setting in around the nation. People are buying everything they can, just in case. There’s a lot of anger and tension, as people try to put their fear somewhere. Repeatedly, I keep hearing the same themes: Who’s to blame? Is it political? Is it all just fear-mongering?

But this is not the time for fear, panic, or anger.

It’s a time to wash our hands, yes, but ultimately to place our hope in Jesus.

And I am so thankful that we can have that security in Him. This earth is not our home, and it’s in times like these that we’re reminded of that in a more poignant, profound way. We know that because we live in a fallen world, there will be sickness, disease, death, sadness, and misplaced fear. Times like these give us a greater yearning for the glorious day when Jesus returns to call us home.

But since that hasn’t happened yet, and since this whole Coronavirus thing isn’t just going to blow over quickly (although we can still pray that it does, in fact, dissipate as the weather warms up), we do have to make some decisions about how to respond.

So here’s how my little family of 5 is responding to the Coronavirus Pandemic on a practical level.

No. 01 | We’re praying like we are at war.

And y’all, we are at war. But we’re not fighting against each other, our government, or even China. We’re at war with a virus, yes, but also with the enemy of our souls who loves nothing more than to stir up fear, irrationality, and strife. Satan delights in panic, blame, and anger.

Your neighbor who bought a year’s worth of toilet paper is not your enemy.
Your governor who is closing schools and banning large gatherings is not your enemy.
Your president who is limiting travel from affected countries is not your enemy.

Even if you don’t agree with those decisions, they’ve already been made and they’re really outside of our control. What we need to do now is PRAY like our lives depend on it.

PRAY for our president to make wise decisions in this uncertain time.
PRAY for the elderly, the immune-compromised, and the chronically ill in your community.
PRAY for your pastor and elders who may soon have to make hard decisions about Sunday gatherings.
PRAY for your literal and figurative neighbors, who may watch the news with a feeling of utter hopelessness and despair because they don’t have the hope that a saving faith in Jesus provides.

No. 02 | We’re buying some basic food and supplies, just in case we find ourselves in a large-scale Coronavirus quarantine.

Please note, I did NOT say we’re going to be hoarding supplies, so don’t yell at me!

But based on how China and Italy both have severely limited what is open and how much people can be out and about, Blaise and I do think it might be wise to have a small store of basics. Typically, we shop for groceries weekly. And we plan to keep right on buying our normal weekly groceries.

However, it is possible – just based on how quickly the situation appears to have escalated – that we may not be able to keep going about life as normal in the near future. Having enough food and supplies on hand for just a couple of weeks feels like a wise and reasonable thing to do.

And because we’ve done this before when we lived in South Sudan and had to carry in enough toilet paper for 3 months at a time, we will use our toilet paper calculations to make sure we don’t buy more than our fair share. 😉

No. 03 | We’re keeping the Coronavirus in perspective.

Today, I’ve honestly vacillated between “this is no worse than the flu” and “but what if we do end up in a forced quarantine for months at a time just like China did?!?”

In other words, one minute I’m blowing it off and the next I’m choking back fear.

But the words that C.S. Lewis wrote in 1948 (and that were quoted in a Gospel Coalition article, “C.S. Lewis on the Coronavirus“) are just as spot on today as they were back then…

“This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”

“On Living in an Atomic Age” (1948) in Present Concerns: Journalistic Essays

We’re going about our normal, daily lives. I’m still homeschooling, nursing Nora, and changing like a million diapers a day. Blaise is still going to work. We still went to small group this week and we’ll go to church this weekend. We have a homeschool conference planned for the end of the month, and God willing, we’ll be able to attend that, too.

While we are keeping things in perspective and not living in fear, we feel that listening to infectious disease experts is wise.

Since we homeschool, much about our daily lives will remain the same. However, we have prayerfully decided to do our part in flattening the curve. We’ll be practicing “social distancing,” so we won’t be attending small group or our homeschool co-op. Both church and the homeschool conference have been cancelled, and we won’t be doing things like dining out either. Blaise will continue going to work, but praise God he’s basically working in isolation right now.

We will still keep on with our daily homeschool routine, we’ll get outside in nature and sunshine, and we’ll show love to our neighbors by doing what we can to keep them safe.

Nothing has changed for us yet. And if things do change, Even though things are changing, we’ll continue place our faith and trust in Jesus.

Because even though we were surprised by the ferocity of the Coronavirus outbreak, God was not.