Undeserved crown

Over a year ago, we planned this trip--a trip to Spain, the birthplace of my mother-in-law and the home of her entire family. A trip intended to mourn her passing and celebrate her life, to relive memories and moments, to cry and laugh and hug and remember. Through no fault of our own, we had to keep delaying the trip, time after time after time, as family crises arose and more sweet souls went to that great beyond. Life happened, in other words. So, finally, over a year after sweet Conchita's death, we left our home in the North Carolina mountains and headed to the sweet, orange scented beauty of southern Spain, and excited to see family and later, to escape to beautiful places surrounding Seville where just the two of us could recapture that spark, rejuvenate our souls, and just enjoy being us--no deaths, no kids, no pets, no responsibilities, no caregiving duties. Hotel reservations made, splurged on business class for the long transatlantic flight, earmarked special must-see places on Trip Advisor--we were raring to go. Nothing was going to stand in our way. Nothing.  

Yeah, nothing but a tiny, submicroscopic infectious agent shaped, fittingly enough, like a crown. Coronavirus, COVID-19, has been crowned, at least currently, as the queen of the modern world, wreaking havoc in practically every area of life across the globe. What started as a mere footnote in central China rapidly became the bold print headline dominating all forms of media. First China, then Iran and Italy were affected, and world health organizations scrambled to contain it, understand it, limit it. Characteristically arrogant and nonplussed, we Americans (including us) went about life, creating and sharing memes on FaceBook, and acted as if our super-power status could insulate us from the panic abroad. Heck, thirty minutes before our flight departed from Miami we listened to the Presidential proclamation limiting travel in the EU, then just shrugged it off and boarded our plane for Spain. We arrived the next day, hugged family, checked into our hotel, recovered from jet lag, and made plans for a Spanish family reunion in the park.

That was Thursday. Less than 36 hours later, we are stuck in our hotel, incredulous as entire countries shut down. We pour over news reports on BBC, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, Google, and, of course, FaceBook. We hear rumors and try to validate them. We search for truth and verification and guidance as to what to do, where to go, should we stay or should we go. I am alternately irritated, angry, and cavalier about the whole situation--irritated that statistics are being manipulated, angry that our vacation has been ruined, but cavalier about the implications of how this happened. We contact our travel agent to arrange an early return, complain about the inconvenience and the unfairness to each other and to family and friends, and then, suddenly, I stop. Not only has this virion become the queen of the media--I have allowed it be queen of my thoughts, my decison-making, my mood. Not once have I prayed about it, asked God for guidance, thanked God for the blessing of even being able to embark on such a journey. No, I instead complained and whined and scoured human sources for an answer, for direction. I allowed this virus, a creation of the Creator, to supplant the Creator.  

I have so much to learn, so far to grow.