Quarantine Week 2: Hills and (Flooded) Valleys

We’re just under two weeks into this global quarantine and morale is at an all-time low, which God in his goodness is turning to quite an unforeseeable high. The rain flooded our neighborhood that sits in a runoff valley just south of a soybean field, and the misplaced dirt and debris that was carried with the floodwater has dotted our yard with the most joyful-looking soybean-runoff confetti I’ve ever seen. It’s amazing what will excite you when you’ve been in total isolation for twelve days. Week one was relatively easy - I had a mile-long to-do list thanks to tasks like 1.) unpack dorm, 2.) turn the storage room in the moldy basement into a makeshift bedroom because Mom and Dad were not expecting me to be home so soon. 3.) complete all the fun Pinterest quarantine checklists (write a letter, bake bread, etc etc etc). Plus, I was in full-blown Doomsday Preppers mode, calculating how many rattlesnakes I would have to kill in order to suction their blood (80% water) into drinkable liquid. In light of the episodes I was forcing myself to memorize, I also took mental notes of how to store insulin* (in 25-50 degree containers) (*no one in my family is diabetic) as well as the blueprints for an underground bunker should the need arise for a secret escape. So yeah, week 1 was easy. I wouldn’t even say I missed anyone that much (no offense to my best friends - blame the part of me that is 49% introverted) because we had reached that point in the semester where it was time for a break. 
But then week 2 hit like a storm. Literally. Many storms hit, which is why my neighborhood is flooded and in my boredom-based intoxication, I’m pretending debris is confetti. Week 2 was technically Spring Break for Taylor students. We kicked off the week with an email that said we would not be going back to school for the rest of the year, which means not only a full two months of online classes, but also that I will never be a residential college student again. Ever. That’s hour 1. Hour 2 brought a Facebook Live press conference of the Panama City Beach City Council Meeting that unanimously voted to shut down all beaches until further notice. Bam. Spring Break plans down the drain. Then our dryer broke. Then, on a desperate-for-some-fresh-air hike at Shades State Park, my dad, determined to avoid the Corona-Virus-ridden handrails on the rugged stairs of Trail 4, slipped down nine stairs, had the air knocked from his lungs, dislocated several ribs and bruised almost the entirety of his back. He couldn’t sit up for two days and we begged God to protect him from any sneezes, coughs, hiccups, or heaven forbid, vomits. 
But the cool thing about God is he paints rainbows over storms. Even if there is not always a physical visible rainbow, just please stick with me on this metaphor: God’s promises are so overwhelmingly abundant during the times that seem darkest to us. Not going back to school is hard, but having unexpected time at home with my family is a gift. Getting to sleep beside my sister and enjoy walks on the trail with my mom and sip coffee as Dad and I read our Bibles together - that’s treasurable. Losing our Spring Break vacation is hard, but the chance to protect the lives of those around us who are vulnerable is a privilege and a civic responsibility that we cherish. God also provided 60 degree days with sunshine enough to burn my cheeks and let us sweat around intense games of Spikeball that lasted an entire afternoon. Also, now that the neighborhood’s flooded, it kind of feels like we’re by the ocean, so if I close my eyes for long enough I sometimes think that I'm there. We got to watch God heal my Dad in ways not short of a miracle, and while the dryer thing is inconvenient, there are many many, many people in the world who would never even consider the absurdity of a dryer. Ever heard of clothes lines? or...idk, patience?
That’s the update. Hills and valleys, nothing but cold hard reality. We’re not pretending it’s all cupcakes and flowers over here, but we’re also not blinding ourselves from the glimpses of God’s goodness that he provides day after day after day.

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