Lest we forget…

We’ve been in lockdown now since early March, with a slow opening up the economy and relaxing of the restrictions. While we were in the middle of it all, first quarantined for fourteen days and then severely restricted in terms of travel and shopping, it felt like an eternity of “sitting at home, doing nothing”. Not that I was doing nothing, but it felt weird to not being able to simply go somewhere, visit people, have church and so on.

At the end of May there is a kind-of lifting of the restrictions, as long as we still stay within the Slovak borders, of course. Joan and I have been going shopping a little bit more than a month ago, and I am struck at how life seems to get back to some form of normality, seen in how traffic patterns get back to jams, people shopping like crazy, visits to friends and family becoming more relaxed, and many other signs that we’re on the way to life as we used to know it.

And yet, something inside me is objecting! Humans easily forget, even despite the pictures we take, monuments we erects and entrances into our history books. I want to hold on to some of the lessons we learned during this time (and continue to learn). These include at least a more reflective life, taking time to enjoy quietness, learning to enjoy silence, getting away from the mad rush around us, appreciating regular contact with others by asking how they are coping (despite happening via Zoom, Whatsapp or social media) and many other things we should not forget as we get back into the routine of “normal” life. Maybe there should be a new normal for us as we “get out” of this time.

God knew that we easily forget and therefore instituted days and rituals or remembrance, such as Passover for the Jews and The Lord’s Supper for followers of Jesus Christ … all of this “lest we forget”. Make a note (physical or mental) of what you’ve learned to appreciate during this time, and make a point of remembering the lessons.