ONE WOMAN'S WORRY AND AWE

By Susan Diamond

I'm sixty-three years old, and I'm living in the worst of times. The virus is spreading all around me. I just heard about the sister of a friend who "got it."

It took a while to sink in. It seemed like months, but it was only weeks until America all got on the same page: How to prevent it, how to contain it, how to test for it, how to treat it.

I'm concerned, but not for me. If I get it and it's my time to go - I go contentedly. I'm certain of an afterlife, one unlike life as we know it, one without pain and suffering, one beautiful beyond comprehension, one where I am with God, surrounded by all my loved ones who passed before me.

Heaven is my idea of eternal good times.

I'm worried about my husband. His faith doesn't run deep like mine; he's not especially keen on heaven as a destination worth rushing to. But for now, we're both healthy. That's all we know for sure. And we're together. We're planning, discussing, learning more - together. We're finding time to laugh, play Scrabble, share videos. We have a roof over our heads and a full pantry.

God has blessed us.

I'm concerned for my children, they are needed. They're fathers and mothers, husbands, and wives. They have children. They have businesses to run and jobs to go to. My children are essential to our family, their families, their families' families. Every day of illness would be a hardship. Or could it be a lesson? A valuable experience that forever changes the family dynamics for the better.

Could this virus be God's clarion call to this and future generations?

I'm worried about my mother. She's ninety-one years old with an active life and a will to live. Though my mom says she's lived a full life, and she is ready to go anytime - she always adds a rolling milestone clause "I'd just like to live long enough to see [fill in the blank]...read more