Saturday March 21 2020

Saturday                                                        from March 21, 2020 by Lisa Frisch

Today marks the end of a very strange and stressful week. Last Saturday, my husband and I returned home. We had been in Cleveland for two nights surrounding one full day of medical appointments. Ohio had just begun to report cases of coronavirus and they were along our travel route. By Saturday, our own county had a diagnosis. We had used caution, just beginning to think about what is now a common phrase – social distancing.

On Sunday, Dave, son Kyle and I each made a personal decision not to go to church. It was the last time our church family would gather until sometime after Easter, possibly well after. Dave and Kyle approached the work week considering the challenge of a new lifestyle – work from home. They are both employed by a family-owned newspaper company in an industry that has been struggling, but is now deemed essential.

(I’m going to make this long story short, realizing that all of you have also had a crazy week and that all of us are in the position of wondering what else will change. Also, as I was writing, our son and daughter-in-law in Columbus blessed us with a Facetime call. They have made the effort to be in touch every day this week.)

By Thursday, Dave, who is the Information Technology Manager, with some help from Kyle, who works in advertising production, was able to get most employees out of the company buildings and into home offices.

Today, Saturday arrived with a sense of relief and appreciation for some time to rest. The day went pretty normally, except we weren’t able to have lunch out as usual. I don’t mind cooking, blessing them with good food, thankful that they have jobs and we have plenty to eat.

photo from Easter 2019

We went to the Bike Path for a walk on this cold, cloudy afternoon, encountering only a few people, strangers who seemed happy to see us, fellow Americans whose eyes meet with an understanding that we’re all in this together.

Tomorrow, another week begins. We don’t know what it will hold. But we know that God is holding us.