Last Tuesday I received the blue and green postcard shown in my feature photo. The state of Virginia sent it to our household offering services for anyone suffering emotionally or psychologically due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Getting that mailer, realizing that the state formed a helpline, surprised me and yet it didn’t. Just within the past week I’ve had conversations and seen discussions or posts about depression among teenagers, demise and death among the elderly in quarantine, of suicide attempts, and concerns about children’s social development. Many talk half in jest, but with a note of truth, about the summer that wasn’t or about cancelling 2020. I have heard “Will I ever see them again?” or “Will I ever go there again?” Even Dunkin’ Donuts is jumpstarting Pumpkin Spice Latte season early this fall to boost public morale! We seem to be at a breaking point. What is wrong?
Although “stay home, stay safe” is positively promoted, long-term isolation is dangerous. For more than five months now, people have sheltered in place ordering food and supplies on-line, worked and learned from home, socialized virtually and watched streamed church services. With the internet and social media, it seemed that folks could live normally in a distance bubble, but the outcomes reveal differently. People aren’t healthy alone.
Yes, we have texting threads, phone calls by the hours, Facetime and Skype with video chats, ZOOM meetings and the like for interaction but it’s not the same as being together. God created us for community with Him and with humankind (Genesis 1:26-27, 1 John 1:3). Experiencing friends and family in person, not just through screenshots or phonelines, keeps us alive. Think about how God gave us five senses. You can remember the scent of your grandparents, the smells of dormitory life, and the odors of sweaty teammates. Flavors are memorable too: holiday dinners, romantic coffee dates, bitter medicine, childhood popsicles. Human touch is necessary as well, yet we have gone from being hug happy to physical aversion.
It is not easy to decipher the many messages about the Corona virus and its contagious nature. We do our best to stay informed, to choose reasonable precautions and to obey regulations. But if it is safely possible, choose to be with your friends and family. Make coffee dates with friends at outdoor cafes. Meet up with folks for picnics. Open your windows and doors and have company for dinner. Take long walks with neighbors. I do understand that some of you reading this cannot do these things because of restrictions at your residence, employment regulations, severe health risks or other restraints. We all must reach out in secondary ways when ‘in-person’ isn’t possible but I hope that you’ll have that chance to visit, to sit together, to share a meal, to see, smell, touch those to whom you are close. Virginia cares … and so do I!