The Long Walk Back to "Normal"

Worldwide cases of the COVID-19 virus are skyrocketing. Every day, I get up and look at the numbers, and I am continually shocked. At the current rate of progression, there will be over a half a million cases by the end of March. As the rest of the world is declaring lockdowns and other preventative measures, China is beginning to release them.

Every day, I hear more and more car horns outside as more people are returning to work. Stores and restaurants are opening. A few days ago, I ventured out to get my hair cut… finally, after almost three months. Many people are still wearing masks and gloves though, despite assertions that there is no longer any danger.

I also just received word this weekend that I’ll begin teaching again on April 7th. Junior and senior high schools will resume then, and primary schools will resume a week or two after that. My school has been preparing by setting up temperature check stations and examination and quarantine areas. With over three thousand students, the morning check in is going to take hours. However, it seems that every precaution is being taken. No one wants to risk a secondary outbreak.


Several days ago, we also got a call from the school facilities manager; she informed us to avoid walking around the quad for a few days because they would be moving some trees. My natural conclusion is that they would be cutting some trees down, but I was wrong. She literally meant moving trees, and not just little ones. They moved four enormous trees. They dug up the roots around the trees, bundled them all up, and lifted the trees out of the ground with a crane. They then put them on heavy industrial flatbed, wide-load trucks and hauled them off to the campus that the school will be moving to next year. 


I was absolutely stunned. Where I am from, if you don’t want the tree there, you cut it down. If you want a tree where you don’t have one, you plant one. It seems that no one wants to wait for a tree to grow; to them, it’s easier just to move the trees that you like. I can’t even imagine how much money it took to do this. There were probably six or seven workers, two massive trucks, a crane, and a backhoe. I really don’t get it…

I am also starting to wonder when I’ll get to return home. Usually, we go to the USA to visit my family in the summer, but the lockdowns and lack of flights might make that impossible. I’m praying that this virus is eliminated long before then though. Some of the best minds in the world are working on vaccines and cures, and there has been some promising progress. 

Wherever you are reading this from, I pray that you are safe and healthy. Remember that God is in control!

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”  
― Chinese proverb

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