It is Day-16 of social distancing at Vancouver. I prefer the term "physical distancing" or "spatial distancing" since we should never stop being social. But it true that the distancing has an impact on us as social beings. Before you worry, I am good. God's providence of good housemates, good friends, good Regent community, sufficient personal space, and enjoyable studies keep me sane. Still, strange times.
The first week of moving classes online wasn't so bad. Being able to see everyone's faces on Zoom was actually nice...in class it's typically the back of people's heads we see. But I miss the Atrium and the library and the stairwell and all the random meetups and prayers that happens there. Chapel was cancelled, soup Tuesdays cancelled, events postponed...and then cancelled, church services moved online...a class weekend trip I was reaaaally looking forward got cancelled (cue sad whine....) But hey, other people lost their livelihoods; this is nothing.
The second week, I was happily writing papers. That means I had planned on being on the computer all day, in my room, surrounded by books anyway. I did get a little annoyed when the radio kept playing "If the world was ending," but other than that, no harm done.
Then my friends decided on Monday that they will catch the last flight home to Australia before the travel restrictions gets airtight. They flew out on Tuesday. I had to process my shock. Any illusion I had of things getting back to normal quickly was shattered. Changes were happening by the day if not by the hour. Spring classes moved online, Summer classes made tentative. Even the Regent 50th Anniversary celebration also became tentative. The s...tuff is getting real. We are in it for the long haul.
The most confusing thing is not knowing what to expect. Things are normal but it's not. We hope it will blow past soon but it may be a year. How do you make plans in the uncertainty? I imagine this is like the time during the war between "watch out!!" and "keep calm and carry on". The mental switch between the two is tiring.
Recently, I asked Jim Houston, the founding President of Regent, how he reconciled war times with peace times since he experienced both. What Jim said was strangely comforting; he said, "we are always at war." We just might not realize it. It is easy to take long periods of peace time for granted, and forget that there are people at war even during peace times. In this broken world, war is the default, peace times are simply the quiet in the in-betweens. We have been warned.
After all, Christ didn't come to fix a loose screw...the world seriously needed saving. Now that He has come, we are in a new kind of in-between. The chaos remains, but we have a reason to be calm.
I am thankful for the 10 weeks of "normal" we had at Regent because this hit us in March instead of January. I got to spend time with friends whose company I enjoyed so much that I now sorely miss. I am thankful that God had taken care of every detail so that now I want for little. Grieving means we had something good in the midst of continuous chaos, and not just all out chaos.
Yes, it is a strange time. People I know in healthcare are fighting madness while I sip tea. My prof received news today that his friend had died from the virus. Things may get worse. Yet we have so much to be thankful for. We are living in the in-betweens. It is strange to spot blessings in the middle of the storm? I don't think so, because God hasn't stop working.
My family is healthy, and despite the chaos, I get to rest. If you do too, then let's rest up for when it is our time to get to work.
"If you say, 'the LORD is my refuge,' and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;" -- Psalms 91: 9 - 11
Image: My friends came to say goodbye before leaving. Balm to my soul.
