Category: Q Gifts from Quarantine

Another exciting byproduct during our time in quarantine is family worship. Because we cannot get out and go to church, we have Sunday church services at home and share and swapping devotionals at home. In the past, we exchanged texts and emails that were overlooked or forgotten, but here, in the house, we are doing this together as a unit. Because without Sunday services, there are no sending kids to Sunday school classes. There are no Youth Group classes. There are no adults only in the sanctuary. There is only everyone together worshipping and learning the same way at the same time. And in these home’s services, it is fascinating to find out what each of us prefers and what we take in.
One of the things we have done in our house is each week, and a person gets to choose a network or online church service that they will share with the rest of the household sanctuary worshipers. My youngest son and I have had an opportunity to share a preaching style the opposite of the more seasoned and structured services that my husband, a pastor, prefers. My husband swears by the expository method of preaching the word. A structured verse by verse method of a section of the bible to him is the only way to share the teachings of the bible. So my husband is getting an education as we share with him some of the people and the message styles that brings the message by topic or concepts, reaching across multiple books of the bible to get the message across.
But the most startling thing to learn is our son and his peers that they look up to in worship. And we did not recognize any of them. There have been times when we thought our doctrinal teaching was passing him by, but in learning whose messages he values and the message they are bringing, even though it may have more flair and flash than we prefer, it is has been doctrinally sound. And I have been proud of each choice because we see our values and spiritual training has not been wasted. And when it is our son’s turn to be the worship leader, we get to understand a new generation of worship and praise music. We get to see what the next generation of the church.
Quarantine has given us something we had forgotten or never learned firsthand, being together with Christ. My grandmother lived it. My mother knew of it. But in my time, we never knew what it was like to worship together in one place, under one God, and the chapel is our home.

They call it Telework. It gets its name from working via an electronic network of computers and the internet. It’s supposed to be a convenience and perk to spend your work hours in your home environment. Having the joy of working in your pajamas is soothing. Getting cups of something hot with extra time to customize the flavor or something cold with as much ice as you want is very appealing. And of course, trips to the lady’s room minus the caustic soap and struggles with a paper towel machine is a bonus. But this resort-like work setting is tainted by the invasion of Zoom meetings.
In the Zoom meetings, everyone wants to see you. Everyone wants to get a peek at your backdrop in the hope of finding some hidden character not seen at the office. Your home and new parts of you are on display and can be dissected for current or future office banter.
So my bathroom has become my makeup studio where I use more makeup than my previous daily routine. But the drive behind the increase has helped appreciate how these layers of cosmetics provide artificial armor that Dolly Parton says she is never without. Lots of time is spent studying camera angles and backdrop props, setting the scene as if I were Hitchcock filming another version of the movie Rear Window. Lighting and shadows are tested. And when the day is filled with multiple zoom meetings, you are exhausted from holding the mask in place. Your escape value of going back to your office to scream is gone. There is no refuge. The invaders are in your sanctuary – your home.
Telework has robbed us of a haven from away from office stress and coworkers. The entire household is on the same hamster wheel because school is being taught (maybe) with Zoom too. The Zoom screen has created an unexpected backwash in our lives.

In elementary school, I was the child who spent most of my recess time in the library. I loved everything about the library. How quiet it was. The shelves with its books in every size and color. The library had dark brown shelves from ceiling to floor and a wall of windows that faced the playground. And with so many authors to choose from, even though I looked alone, I had lots of friends.
Doctor Seuss was my language tutor with all of the twists and turns in his rhymes that are still with me. The book Petunia. I love you, taught me about friendship and honesty. And Aesops Fables helped me understand so many values in life. The Dr. Zim books opened my mind to the detailed workings of space, zoology, rocks and minerals, the universe, anything that crawled, crept, or flew in my backyard or playground.
And so in quarantine, I have rediscovered the joy of finding books in the online library. I’ve set up search scenarios all of my favorite authors put together documents to keep me in order of reading when I hit a series. I have broadened my sci-fi authors and experimented with new romantic ideas. And so, I would say quarantine has given me the extra time to read and explore beyond my walls and spend time in new places and with new people.