coronavirus Archives - Page 2 of 2

March 30, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Coronavirus Chaos as God’s Reorg

March, 2020. Coronavirus chaos. COVID-19-related lockdown. A pandemic that stopped everything. No people to see or places to go. No stuff to do. My calendar of activities blanked out. A reorganization of everything in my life.

God, is this pandemic part of your plan?! Shouldn’t I be going, doing, meeting, etc.? Aren’t those activities the work you planned for me to do?

What an inopportune time for this to be happening. So I thought seven months ago when coronavirus chaos set in and the COVID-19 lockdown began. After moving to a new community, my husband and I involved ourselves in a church—really involved, as in four nights a week, some daytime commitments, occasional extra activities. In our previous town, we lived within a mile of our church. From our rural home, we drive 25 minutes for church, groceries, or anything. Until COVID-19 stopped our schedule.

God, what can I possibly learn from being stuck at home?! Yes, I am grateful to be healthy, but now what?

As an extrovert, this is not my lifestyle. I miss people! Especially kids. This is an empty-nester isolation sentence: no Sunday school to teach, no youth group to help, no kids in our neighborhood. I could be doing something important.

God, this is like a painful reorg! You took my current life’s org chart and wiped out the connected boxes.

A reorg (reorganization) happens in order to restructure an organization for growth, efficiency, expansion—or even reduction. The goal is to maximize the company’s resources, strategies, and people for improved outcomes. When you work at the bottom of the chart, as I often have, a new org chart brings surprises. Where did people go? Who am I stuck with on my team? Why can’t I be on the other side with that person/team/salary? What happened to the higher-ups that I trust?

God, I don’t like this coronavirus reorg. Why did you have to shake-up my life?

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Dear Lord, let me submit to your reorg of my life, my activities, my schedule, and my networks. I may not like the disconnections or the uprooting, but teach me to submit. Convict me where I need to be convicted, and turn my selfish heart away from sinful attitudes and actions. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:6-9

Dear Lord, I feel trapped, unproductive, and frustrated. Forgive me for my bad attitude and reluctance to learn. Forgive me for taking my health for granted when so many are ill and dying. A contemplative attitude and reflection are tough for me. Please help me to focus on studying your Word, following your guidance, and obeying you. Change my priorities and pursuits to align with your ways. Your will be done. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:7-8

[Originally posted October 2020]

March 29, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

COVID-19 Face Mask Ministry

To wear or not to wear a face mask during the coronavirus pandemic, that is no longer a question. Studies of COVID-19, once believed to be spread only by droplets, now reveal transmission by aerosol and droplets. And that substantiates wearing a facial covering, as recently mandated by our Minnesota Governor Walz.

Even before face mask mandates, many people started sewing masks. I had not quilted in decades or sewn in years, but I pulled out my dusty sewing machine and searched YouTube for mask instructions. Thanks to Jenny the quilt lady and Pretty Handy Girl, I found easy instructions that even a rare sewer like me could follow.

My quarantine project expanded from sewing masks for my husband and me to family members, and then into a ministry for our neighbors and friends. Our neighbors care for their elderly bedridden mother/grandmother on hospice and wanted masks to run errands. My daughter’s coworkers needed masks for their return to the lab (before that state’s second lockdown). My college-age son and his apartment mates had no masks to comply with their city’s mask mandate.

A retired Air Force friend has scarred lungs from the burn pits in Iraq. One friend and her husband live in a meatpacking town that made national headlines for being a coronavirus hotspot. I sent masks overseas to my uncle and cousins caring for my chronically ill aunt and to my professor friend in the Netherlands. When our governor mandated masks for children, I thought of my friends with kids, found small mask patterns, and sewed children’s masks.

With apologies to lyricist Sheldon Harnick, this is my parody of “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” from the 1964 musical Fiddler on the Roof:
Maskmaker, Maskmaker,
Make me a mask,
Cover my face,
Stop COVID catch!
Maskmaker, Maskmaker
Find some fabric,
And make me a perfect mask.

With fabric stores closed and elastic in short supply during quarantine, aspiring maskmakers became creative. I re-purposed table runners, shirts, pillow cases, and dish towels. My husband even gave up one of his dress shirts.

I sewed.

A seamstress I am not, but I worked hard at my new ministry. I fought with my machine. Taped a broken spool-holder in place. Looked through the machine manual and practiced settings on fabric scraps. Ripped open poorly-placed stitches. Broke sewing machine needles. Sewed over stick pins—some I missed, others I bent. Tore up seams after mistakenly sewing nose-pieces into chin darts. Scrounged my supplies for thread. I cut coffee-bag ties for nose-pieces based on one of the expert’s tips.

And I sewed.

A neighbor contributed friendship bracelets to use as mask tie loops. Another neighbor found wide elastic; I cut it into widths that wouldn’t pull the whole ear forward. I scoured the house for mask tie options like shoelaces and took the elastic from all my sweat pants and leggings. When I used up those mask tie options, I cut up strips of t-shirts.

And I sewed. Then I dropped them off to be mailed. And prayed for God’s safety in the midst of coronavirus chaos.

[Originally posted July 2020}

March 29, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Quarantine Quandaries from a First-World Perspective

Pandemic perspectives. Quarantine quandaries. First-world focus. Coronavirus chaos. My first-world problems seem far removed from current real-world issues of risks, illness, and death in the face of COVID-19.

With our grocery-shopping limited to once every two weeks, why do the chips, trail mix, and snacks disappear within days of our trip into town?! (We no longer have teenagers in the house to blame.) Despite our agreement to limit shopping, my husband often thinks of food that he wants to buy. Right now. I revert to lessons I taught my kids on needs versus wants.

As I learn to live with my shaggy hair with exposed gray patches, my husband desperately threatens to take the dog clippers to his hair. Neither of us suffers. No dog clipper wounds or food fights ensue. Our needs for food, water, and shelter are met with abundance. We continue to shelter-in-place under Minnesota’s 5+ weeks of COVID-19 mandates. God teaches me contentment and helps refocus my priorities.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13

A first-world problem has little significance in comparison to life and death outcomes regularly faced by people in different situations. COVID-19 is not limited to impoverished, non-industrialized nations; this pandemic breaks all worldly barriers. Even in our first-world setting, the novel coronavirus continues its unpredictable rampage across the United States. As Minnesota cases trend upward, the pandemic slowly marches on toward our remote Minnesota county. Our lives under coronavirus quarantine seem like first-world luxury compared to others who directly confront COVID-19 illness and death. We hesitantly admit that we currently live as outsiders to COVID-19’s catastrophic effects, but we gratefully acknowledge God’s protection and provision during this coronavirus chaos.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

What about the stress of first responders, who suspect COVID-19 in every household, on every call? How do the medical and ancillary staff on COVID-19 units face the virus at every turn, every patient, and in every decision? What is it like to battle coronavirus as a patient, seeking medical care, leaving loved ones behind, and being alone during emergency treatment or death?

And what about secondary losses not related to illness? The economic fallout of job loss, interrupted income streams, business failure, and inability to pay bills remains to be tallied. The future implications and outcomes of this pandemic seem overwhelming. May God give me perspective and a prayerful heart for others regarding this coronavirus chaos that I do not understand.

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

So my complaints about lockdown, being stuck in the northern woods of Minnesota, and eating too much seem shallow and inane. May God use this time to draw me—and all of His children—to Him. As wise Sue from my Bible study said, this time of quarantine helps us to recognize what we miss most. She encouraged us to prayerfully confess any idolatry and ask God to show us the basis of our identity.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Lord, please use this time to purify me from my biased, first-world perspective. Please purge anything that keeps me from growing in you. Prepare all of us for what lies ahead, and help us to entrust our future to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Originally posted April 2020]

March 29, 2022 by Kristina Lunde Leave a Comment

Coronavirus Chaos, Toilet Paper Shortages and God’s Provision

What do Coronavirus chaos, the COVID-19 pandemic and shortages of toilet paper have in common? They are all opportunities to recognize God’s incredible provision in the midst of an earthly pandemic. Why people hoard toilet paper in a pandemic that affects lungs and not gastrointestinal tracts, I do not understand. I do know the God who provides what I need, and I trust Him to figure out my wants versus my needs.

As I have previously written , my prayers for my young adult daughter have been chastened and adjusted by the sovereign God I serve. As my daughter’s heavenly Father, God can be trusted to guide her better than anyone, even her mother. My job is to obey God, and I am privileged to watch His miracles in her life. She recently received a great job offer, sold her furniture, and downsized possessions in her previous city in preparation for a long-distance move.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

After my daughter came home to live with us, she further downsized, expecting yet another big move. We enjoyed unpacking, grouping items together, and downsizing. She labeled, sorted, and taped boxes, while I repacked boxes, stealthily adding encouraging notes. I wrapped fragile items and tucked household goods into boxes. Several boxes had large spaces to fill, but I tried not to mix up the categories. Having used up her few linens and blankets, I considered how to fill the boxes with lightweight packing material.

Plastic bags? I did not have enough for the big spaces. Newspaper? I didn’t want newsprint on her dishes. What about toilet paper and paper towels?! I sheepishly explained my packing and padding methods. “I used toilet paper and paper towels to pad your breakables and fill the boxes. It seems strange, but saves you money because you have to buy that stuff anyway.” In case she ended up living in a furnished room, she would need to send boxes home with us. So all of her essentials were labeled—and packed tightly with paper products. I had no idea that was part of God’s guidance.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Our family drove 1300+ miles from Minnesota before the coronavirus changed everything. My daughter kept her initial appointment in the human resources department, but they warned that her job orientation might occur online. At that time, although Italy implemented quarantines, the U.S. quarantined only cruise ships off the coast.

During that second week of March 2020, my daughter’s apartment-hunting went well, but then COVID-19 infection rates began rising. Suddenly, people did not want to show their potential rentals. After several long days, my daughter found a one-bedroom apartment. We waited in the leasing office for the apartment cleaning and then unloaded her boxes late in the day. The clean carpets had not dried, so we spent one last night together before she moved into her new place and we drove home. There was no opportunity to buy furniture or supplies; no one was responding to Craigslist ads. She had a mattress, disassembled shelf, lamp, and her boxes in the empty apartment.

When my daughter started her job six days later, that southern metropolis—along with the rest of the country—had been impacted by COVID-19. Social distancing, working from home in non-essential jobs, and restaurant closures were now coronavirus-mandated precautions. The day after she leased her apartment, the 300+ unit complex closed to potential renters. She purchased electronics necessary for working from home; that store closed the next day. God’s timing placed my daughter just one day ahead of all the closures. Although toilet paper could not be found on the empty grocery shelves, she had what she needed to work from home.

Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24

We could not have known or predicted any of this when my daughter first accepted her job. Like many other people, our lives changed irrevocably by the surprise of COVID-19. We remain grateful to a sovereign God who answered prayer, provided my daughter with a job, and met her needs in a timely manner through the coronavirus chaos. We believe that God miraculously provided for my daughter—including those four rolls of toilet paper packed into her boxes.

[Originally posted March 2020.]