Reflections on the coronavirus crisis pt 2: Be a light

 I added this to our family plan.

Years ago, I went to the 9/11 memorial center in NYC with my friend (who is still one of my most amazing and inspirational friends today) and I loved this t-shirt (see above) that I saw there, but didn't buy it. My friend, being the thoughtful, kind person she (was and still) is, secretly bought it for me and stuck it in my suitcase when we said goodbye after our trip. I've been thinking about it these days. 

Be a light.

God doesn't will sickness or the coronavirus or anything else bad that happens, be it a tsunami or a murder. Evil is a mysterious presence that we can not be sure in this world why God permits it to exist to some degree and sometimes it is frustrating and scary because evil usually seems bigger and louder than good. 

But it isn't. If you have ever read any sentence of the Bible, you know that good is small but it is ALWAYS more powerful than evil and we know the end of the story: good wins. Good is the salt (small) in the food (big), the yeast (small) in the bread (big), the light (small) on the hill (big). 

Evil is sometimes mysterious but one thing we know for sure: crises and adversity brings out the best or the worst in people. Adversity permits GROWTH in virtues like self-sacrifice, courage, etc. 

Adversity has ALWAYS been present in every age and time throughout history. Why did we think we were untouchable? Why could every other human being in history be subject to hunger, poverty, war, plagues, natural disaster, terrorism, etc. but we are untouchable? Is it progressivism? Is it because we have "progressed" to a higher stage of life where scientism and materialism and hedonism have cured everything and will cure everything? 

Shocking front page headline: we are the same, finite (infinite souls of course), weak, insecure creatures in need of a Creator that the Romans at the end of the Roman Empire were, the persecuted Christians were (and are), the medievals suffering from the black plague were, Anne Frank and German Jews were, etc. 

And the tools for dealing with adversity are still the same: faith and family. 

Have courage. 

“The real things haven't changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

Be a light. 
"In darkness we shine brightest."

Master list here: https://martajuliemaria.blogspot.com/p/isolation-reflections-and-ideas.html?m=1