Pastor Cara Scriven, Lead Pastor
At our last Virtual Potluck, we talked about our hobbies. One of the hobbies that I relish the most is reading. I am not a fan of reading to learn something new as much as I enjoy escaping to another world. It helps me leave my struggles, anxieties, and the stress of the real world as I enter a world that sometimes is completely alien to me.
Without a library to go at the moment, I found myself out of fiction books to read so a couple weeks ago I ordered two new books: Station Eleven and the Priory of the Orange Tree. After looking at the size of the two books, I chose to start with the smaller one, Station Eleven, which begins with a pandemic wiping out most of society.
I wasn’t so sure it was a great idea to read about a pandemic in the midst of one, but sometimes you have to lean into your situation. So I made the bold move to read it anyway.
Unlike Covid-19, the pandemic in Station Eleven is so deadly that if you are infected with the virus you die in 48 hours. This quickly leaves the world in a mess especially when the electricity stops working, toilets stop flushing and the internet dies. Following this reality, the book takes on a very apocalyptic view of humanity following society’s collapse.
Towards the end of the book, two of the characters are discussing the apocalyptic movies they had watched in the past. One of the characters said to the other, every pandemic movie I have seen had Zombies in it. “I’m just saying it could be worse.”
This past week I had some moments where I wasn’t sure it could get any worse. And yet, as I finished the book, I realized there are so many things to be grateful for:
Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash
The sound of a child’s laugh
The beauty of a child becoming a young adult
A backyard that produces food
A husband who loves me deeply
Access to Healthcare and good doctors
Clean sheets
My morning cup of tea
Access to the internet
Flushing toilets
Reading a book about a pandemic was actually a wonderful counter intuitive idea. It helped me see even in our serious situation, all of the blessings we still have. While it is difficult to wear a mask when we are out, be separated from our church family, and have to be very careful how close we get to others, there are so many reasons we have to be thankful.
I pray that this pandemic, as hard as it is, will shape all of us into people who are full of gratitude for the many blessings in our lives.