Approaching One Year of COVID

 I am writing this on 24 Jan, so by the time you read this it will be much closer to the One Year mark of CVOID infestation. To be confessional, I never expected it to last this long...and we still aren't finished yet. In fact, through Jan and Feb of 2020, no one around here had ever even heard of COVID.

I know many folks have suffered, but it strikes me that things have not gotten as bad as I anticipated. We have a lot of friends suffering health issues, but many are NOT COVID-related. Two of our friends have broken their hips. Another has terminal cancer, and another has recovered from what was expected to be terminal cancer. One of our neighbors almost died from COVID complications, but has recovered to better-than-before status and made the decision to retire from work. One of our new neighbors has been intensively remodeling his home for the last 8 or 10 weeks, and another one has been remodeling for the last 6 months or so. It seems like the remodeling--and building supply--business has done quite well during COVID.

I must confess that I have LOVED not having to drive so much. I hate driving. I have rather enjoyed not leaving the home place except for deer hunting. I had to deposit a couple of checks at Woodforest Bank, and have not been inside a full Walmart in 3-4 weeks. We have also reduced out inside dining at local restaurants in view of the early January COVID surge. We would usually be on our way to Dallas for our mid-year conference by today, but COVID has caused it to be all on-line this year. We will greatly miss our friends, and the pleasant casual conversations at mid-year, but we have a virtual "dinner together" planned for Tuesday evening with 4 other couples. I am in charge of our small gathering and I hope it is a lot of fun.

In about 5 or 6 weeks (from the date of this writing) the azaleas will begin blooming and this winter will be behind us. We will have passed the one year mark. It has been a strange, strange year--but you don't need me to tell you that.

But G^d is good, in season and out. G^d's plan continues. Our opportunities to minister change, but we still have them.

Thanks be to G^d for another year, another spring, another azalea bloom. Thanks be to G^d that despite COVID, His love is constant.

Let's make the most of it.