We’ve Been Here Before

I’ve been quiet during this stay-at-home pandemic season, working out my thoughts, reading many articles and posts written by others. Connecting with people online has been a source of comfort and pleasure, hearing about their experiences, giving and receiving support and encouragement through words and prayer. Until now, I’ve been hesitant to add my own words to the mix. But last week I picked up Marilyn Robinson’s novel Gilead for a re-read and received her words like a wise voice from the past.

We feel we are living in an unprecedented time. Surely having the entire world stop has never happened before. Certainly, having even churches shut their doors is a first. Didn’t people run to church on D-Day and at the end of any war, after the stock market crash, or on 9-11?  Shutting church doors is a first in my lifetime. The very people who I long to be with during this uncertain season are only available online, causing my soul to ache with longing. And then Robinson’s words delivered a timely message about a historical season that mimics our own moment. Someone has been here before…and they survived.

If you are unfamiliar with Gilead (one of my favorite novels), the story is written in the form of a long letter from ailing pastor, John Ames, to his young son about Ames’ life and his descendants. Here’s the brief passage that encouraged me. I hope it encourages you, too.

“People don’t talk much about the Spanish Influenza, but that was a terrible thing, and it struck just at the time of the Great War, just when we were getting involved in it. It killed the soldiers by the thousands, healthy men in the prime of life, and then it spread into the rest of the population. It was like a war, it really was. One funeral after another, right here in Iowa. We lost so many of the young people. And we got off pretty lightly. People came to church wearing masks, if they came at all. They’d sit as far from each other as they could. There was talk that the Germans had caused it with some sort of secret weapon, and I think people wanted to believe that, because it saved them from reflecting on what other meaning it might have.”    ~Marilyn Robinson

Not only did the people in John Ames’ day have to deal with the Spanish Influenza, but at the same time they were going through the horrific period of World War I—The Great War. The words from Gilead offer a glimpse into our days ahead, church and otherwise, when stay-at-home orders are lifted and we venture out. Masks will be commonplace when we once again gather to eat in restaurants, shop, attend events, or worship. Here in Illinois, as of May 1^st, the governor has ordered everyone to wear a mask in public. I’ve thrown together one mask out of a bandanna and ordered a few more online. This will be the norm.

But I’m encouraged that after the Spanish Influenza, people did once again come out of their houses, eventually take off their masks, and return to work and church—although likely they were changed forever.  I’m sure we will be changed forever as well.

When I was young, I had to put myself through college, working a full-time graveyard shift job to pay my tuition and rent while remaining a full-time student. Most days, I only slept four hours or so before I had to either get to a class or head to work at 11pm. (I worked for an answering service, manning a switchboard for calls to AAA, doctor’s offices, and other emergency businesses.)

But let me tell you, the hardship of that experience formed me. While my roommates were getting ready for bed in their comfortable rooms, laying their heads down on soft pillows knowing their parents would be paying their tuition bills, I had to head to work in the dark of night and save every penny to survive. In fact, whenever I use a paper towel today, I recall how this item still feels like a luxury to me. I never bought paper towels during those years because they seemed like a one-time-use extravagance—and I didn’t buy paper towels for many years following for the same reason. Each time I dry my hands today with a paper towel, I’m grateful I can afford to buy this simple product. Whenever I made coffee during those hard college years, I would re-use the filters to get extra use out of them. When I use an extra coffee filter, I feel the same gratitude.

Rather than harming me, those challenging financial times impressed on me the need to live within my means, stay out of debt except when necessary, carefully consider how I choose to spend, be grateful, question my consumer values, and be generous to others who are suffering hardships like I once suffered. Your lesson might look very different than mine, but may we all come out of this season with positive but individualized lessons as we endure the coming days and years.