And just like that, one day things were considerably normal and our lives were moving, then we woke up and everything had come to an abrupt stop. It was like getting whiplash from a car crash, except the crash was actually like a 50-car pile-up on a 2-lane highway on a very very foggy day. This was the beginning of the mess.
This is the messy truth of the COVID-19 Pandemic of 2020. Our lives as we’ve known it has been forever altered. The messy truth is that the world has actually had to ‘be still’ yet ‘keep going’. In the midst of it all, some have been classified as essential workers who some were never considered to have essential employment status prior to the pandemic. This has been an employment mess.
Now, the essential workers are the award-winning frontline cleanup crew to deal with the fallout of a deadly virus who has decided to shed its piercing tentacles into every facet of our lives. At the same time, non-essential workers were somewhat shamed into an identity of a 2nd class worker. The messy truth is that all workers who were gainfully employed prior to COVID-19 and who got up every day to go to work to provide for their families and their communities should be considered essential. This is an unemployment mess.
Lessons learned through during the COVID-19 Pandemic are limitless. A deadly virus has somehow been able to choose to penetrate the communities of the not so dark, the dark, darker, and darkest families the most. So, my question to this virus called COVID-19 would be this, “What class of people do you consider essential”? This is a virus mess. All the graphs, charts, scientific data, and nightly news highlights point to the essential truth. Our country has not until this catastrophic moment in time been brave enough to acknowledge the disparity in the health care system amongst the people of color. This is a healthcare mess.
Let’s look at the lessons that comes from the hosts of parents who were forced into educating their children full-time that apparently was an opportunity to remind them that their job as parents is essential. Primary learning always comes from the home first and it’s essential that kids understand that teachers are essential helpers to their parents. What’s even messier is that the world immediately acknowledges also that apparently, sending our kids to school is more essentially about them eating regular meals as well as receiving an education. Why? Because some kids are eating more meals at school than at home. This is a societal mess. Instead of programs and resources being readily available to households prior to COVID-19 to provide more food for our children, it took a global crisis to push us into that realization and action. Mess on top of mess.
Lessons, lessons, lessons from our enemy COVID-19. Let’s see, apparently whether or not you’re in a red or a blue state, determines your ability to receive healthcare, masks, COVID-19 tests, stimulus checks, etc. This is a political mess.
There have been multiple members of families lost with no proper way to grieve, or a way to provide a proper burial for their loved ones. This has sparked a grieving mess. Loved ones dying alone in hospitals, eulogized on Facebook Live or forced to have funeral services with 10 people or less. Social distancing has made it even harder because loved ones can’t hug or touch to console each other or even break bread with each other with no less than a 6-foot distance. This is a crying mess.
Then, the big lesson from the Church. The church went from being behind four walls, to being launched virtually to online outlets to remind the church leadership and membership that they are the church. This became a theological mess. While prior to COVID-19, ‘The Church’ communities waited for people to come to a physical building. During this Pandemic, church attendance is through the roof, more people than ever have access to faith filling messages. ‘The Church’ was never meant to be confined to the four walls, it was never about the building, it’s always been about the ‘Messages of Faith and Hope’. This points to a discipling mess. Membership was and is important, but having a large membership was never apart of the Great Commission it was more about making disciples. This is not to blanket the whole church or a specific denomination. However, it is a faith lesson.
Finally, the messy truth about life today is this. Life happens, things change and people are meant to evolve and grow continuously and sometimes it is through crisis. It would be a Pandemic mess if we as people; people of all races, classes, political parties, relationship statuses, denominational choices if we don’t take this Pandemic time-out to evaluate our messes on an individual level, family level, country and global level, economic level, societal level, and most certainly our political level so that we can all acknowledge the Message in the Mess. We all need each other to survive, this is the messy truth of the Pandemic of 2020.
Written By: Dr. Nyreia Harrington Wright DMIN, MA, NBCC, LPC
Time of Glory Counseling Services, PLC. And Pop Up Talk Therapy PLC. in Southfield, MI. offering therapeutic and coaching services, conference & workshop speaker, author and Bible Teacher.
- www.timeofglorycounseling.com
- www.popuptalktherapy.com
- Facebook: Nyreia Harrington
- Facebook: Popuptalktherapy
- Instagram: dr._nyreia