The Gift I Didn't Know I Needed

It was the second week of March 2020, when our local government issued an order for lockdown amidst ominous news being reported from China, and serious statements issued by the World Health Organization. Both Canadian and international networks broadcast daunting images of Italian cities that looked like ghost towns, alongside interviews with exhausted doctors and nurses struggling with the increasing number of bodies; lives lost to a virus no one seemed to know much about. 

Just the previous Sunday our church had celebrated several baptisms. My husband and I went out for dinner and a movie that weekend. The lockdown all seemed so abrupt and surreal.

With the first quarter of the year in full swing, March announced busy days and weeks ahead. On my calendar was a speaking event I’d had at the start of the year, and I was looking forward to a conference in the U.S. that I planned on attending with a couple of friends from Montreal. My husband had projects ahead, and we both had deadlines to meet. 

The live broadcast from our local government brought the cadence of everyday city living to a screeching halt. In a matter of minutes, just a few key words forced a re-think and re-do of the foreseeable future. Mandatory. Lockdown. Global. Pandemic.

Our daily rhythm of ….