I ventured out recently to have my car serviced.  I arrived in a manner that I have been told is a best practice for our current health client.  Before exiting my car, I placed my KN95 mask over my mouth and nose and proceeded to the check in desk which was marked off in six foot blocks.  As I looked around the dealership, I noticed something very odd…I was the only individual wearing a mask.  Not another customer or employee of a very large dealership was wearing any personal protection.

As we have had so little personal contact and been asked to shelter in place and quarantine, I began to question my own reality.  The recent news reports I had just observed reminded us to wear personal protective equipment whenever we were in a public place.  My first thought, in the climate of what has been termed “fake news” by those who want to deflect was; have we finally succumb to his antics and begun looping old new broadcasts? When I reached the reception desk, I told the service rep, I felt a bit overdressed.  We chuckled and he confirmed my thoughts when leaving home that morning, “Whatever makes you feel safe.”

While we may all be questioning what is socially acceptable these days, there is one thing that goes without question.  Those same nightly news broadcasts that taunt the absolute destruction of our economy, taunt the skyrocketing unemployment rate and the increase in deaths related to COVID-19.  Just like I was the only one without a mask, I find another peculiarity very comforting.  With all the destruction in the world, I have barely been affected.

I was offered and accepted a work from home position over one year before the pandemic ever started.  When the virus reached the US, the God that I communicate with unctioned me to begin grocery shopping at 6:00 a.m. to avoid crowds.  This was before they ever indicated that the virus had the potential to linger in the air and on surfaces.  From there, He instructed me to have my groceries delivered through insta-cart before crowds overran the stores.  On one of my first grocery runs I grabbed a larger than normal amount of toilet paper and paper towels and when the world had me panicking if I had enough, unlike them, I never ran out.   When the world was fighting over paper goods in the aisles, the God of my creation had me stocking up on meats that I placed in plastic storage bags in my freezer.  Now we find the meat distribution channel may be affected by the virus.  Each time, I felt as if I was out-of-step with what needed to be done, I now find God had me ahead of the curve seeing those things that had yet been realized.

If we have developed a relationship with God, that relationship is now paying off in ways we never imagined.  The voice of God which we always relished, has become invaluable in this climate as the federal government can not be trusted to tell us the truth of this pandemic or anything that affects us directly.  Of all the insanity, unemployment, economic devastation and death in the world, myself, my circle and my family remain largely unaffected.  And like the feeling I experienced when exiting my car at the local dealership; I feel I am living an altered reality from the rest of the world.  And because of the presence of God in my life, I am.  While I know the reports are true it shows me just how big the God of our salvation is.  That He would look down at a time like this and single us out to be blessed and protected.  I am reminded of the word of Deuteronomy 3:16 which say, “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Amen to that!