A Tale of Two Years - Tracy Krauss

It was the best of times... it was the worst of times...

This famous line from the beginning of Charles' Dickens' classic A Tale of Two Cities pretty much sums up the past two years. 

In those first months of Covid, the phrase "Together Apart" perfectly captured the unity of purpose that many people felt in 2020 as they learned new ways of staying connected despite the isolation. Everyone was zooming and putting hearts in windows and baking and sharing it online... Fast forward to 2021, and Covid fatigue plus an every moving yo-yo of loosening and then tightening restrictions had people taking sides. 

In my view, the disunity that ensued (and still lingers) has very little to do with one's actual ideology about vaccines, masks, mandates, convoys, emergency measures - or ANYTHING else. It has been a very successful campaign on the part of the devil himself to divide and conquer. 

To me, that is the real tragedy--and it makes me mad! (At the devil!) BUT - jokes on him! This pandemic did not take GOD by surprise. So, rather than take sides, I've tried to keep my focus on prayer and praise. 

Here are some of the GOOD times:

- InScribe's Virtual Fall Conferences were both huge success stories. They brought together people who might not normally attend. The 2020 FC was especially impactful for the executive, I think, since we actually pulled it off -- and successfully, too! The 2021 FC was also excellent, although I think some people were also missing the personal contact by that time. Fall Conference is just one example of how we've learned to adapt the way we do business/school/etc. 

- Like many others, I was quite productive. I got books written and published, I increased my marketing efforts, I learned some new skills (video editing as an example), and more. I also decided it was time to take action instead of just "wishing" when it came to some other things in my life. For example, I had always wished to speak other languages, especially German, since my father was a German speaker. Using both Rosetta Stone and Duolingo, I'm still at it. I am far from fluent, but the other day I actually understood something someone said while in a store. (I was eavesdropping.) 

- My husband and I actually did well financially over the pandemic. I realize this was not the case for many people, but in our case it was. We just weren't spending. Another reason is, he worked a lot of overtime in 2020. (Good for the pocketbook. Not so good for relationships.) 

- I had two new grandsons born in 2020! Hooray! One daughter who lived in Victoria actually moved back to Tumbler Ridge because her university courses were switched to online. She was able to finish her degree while staying home with her new baby and we got to see lots more of her and little Freddie than if they had been in Victoria. 

Here are some of the not-so-good times:

- I've lost some of the joy I initially felt while pursuing my interests. Things aren't quite as much fun as I remember. When the pandemic first hit I started playing the piano every day. That petered away over the summer of 2021 and I just haven't bothered to pick it up again. I'm still productive - I'm too stubborn not to be - but I empathize with some of the other people in this series who talked about watching too much Netflix. I've let more mindless activity fill my days in 2021 than I did in 2020. 

- Living Apart. In 2020 when the pandemic first hit, my husband was working away and lived in a camp. In order to keep production going, his employer asked if he would be willing to stay in their "bubble". He ended up being away for thirteen weeks! Then, after a week at home, he was away again for another five weeks. So, while it dramatically enhanced our finances, it was a long season of living apart. (Not what we signed up for when we got married!)

- Some of the tension over ideological differences has affected my own family. While I have been very intentional about not engaging and trying to stay neutral, I won't lie and say it hasn't been stressful. It breaks my heart to see people I love at odds with one another. 

- I've gained weight. I'm not sure what else to add to this one other than to say, I am not happy about this outcome but have no one to blame but myself! (Related to the mindless TV watching, I suspect...)

Reflecting on the positives and negatives of the past two years has helped me put things in perspective. I can't help thinking about what others have gone through that is so much worse. 

Tracy Krauss lives and works from her home in Tumbler Ridge, BC. Visit her website www.tracykrauss.com - fiction on the edge without crossing the line - 

Thoughts on the Pandemic by Marcia Lee Laycock

Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash

I remember my mother telling me about the Spanish Flu that struck the world on the heals of World War 1. She was an infant, brought to Canada at the age of two months in 1919, so the memories are not hers, but repeated stories her mother had told her. My mother was born prematurely so she was considered at high risk of catching and dying from the virus. That kept my grandmother totally isolated for long stretches of time, venturing out only when they ran out of food. Fear was rampant and no wonder – it is estimated that somewhere between 50 and 100 million people died during that pandemic, most over a two year period, though the pandemic was still in evidence ten years after it began.

The current numbers for Covid 19 are approximately 6 million deaths worldwide, since tracking began in 2020. We all are aware of the hording that took place at the beginning of the pandemic and the supply chain issues currently causing problems across the globe. For most of us seeing bare shelves in the grocery stores was a shock. Chicken livers were the only meat in our local stores at one point. I went home empty-handed. I have lived in the third world so such things weren’t entirely new to me, but seeing it happen here, in Canada, was enough to rattle me.

And the isolation from friends and family had a profound effect. Though I am an introvert who loves my alone time, the longing to be with my children was an ache that was new and not at all welcome. I wept to see seniors peering through windows at their loved ones who were not allowed in to visit.

All of these things have given me a new appreciation for the privileges we so often take for granted. I treasure my time with family and friends much more now and make an effort to be deliberate about pulling myself out of my hermit-like lifestyle.

I savour my favourite foods and thank God for them in a way I never had before, knowing even the basics could disappear at any moment.

The world has now become a much more tentative place – a place where things could change quickly and without remedy. That does create a certain insecurity in us all, but it also has benefits.

We acknowledge the source of all our benefits more now, I believe. We turn to Him more, the words “thank you” more likely to be on our lips. In a sense, many of us have become more like those in the third world, whose dependence on God is in evidence moment by moment. Though that lifestyle can be stressful, it can also drive us to bow before God as we see his provision for our needs. We turn to scriptures like Matthew 6:25-34 where we are admonished not to be anxious but to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, ESV). And we learn to trust.

Yes, the pandemic has been hard but as it has pushed us out of our comfort zones it has put us on a kind of pilgrimage. And the scripture says, “What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage … (Psalm 84:5, ESV).

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For information on Marcia's writing/speaking/teaching ministry visit her website