Respond Relationally

Coronavirus is this generation's 9/11. And anything sudden and tragic leaves trauma in its wake. When trauma is dropped in our laps, we have to find a good way to respond. If we're lucky, we find more than one way that works for us. Here are 5 ways to respond to COVID-19.

Why We Need to Respond to COVID-19

“This is going to be this generation’s 9/11.”

I said this to a few coworkers about one week before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic.

In a matter of days, March became the month everything changed. Music festivals cancelled. Sporting events happened without live audiences then all of them were cancelled—even March Madness. Theme parks all over the country closed. Churches moved to online services with only a couple of days to figure out and manage complex communications channels. Gatherings had to be no more than 10 people and social distancing was highly recommended.

It felt like the world was hurdled into a left turn at a break-neck speed. It left us feeling unsettled, fearful, panicked, discombobulated.

In my memory, the last time the nation felt like this was 9/11. Except this time, it wasn’t just one nation. It was all of them. The entire world felt like it came to a screeching halt.

When the government began strongly advising employers to send employees home, I packed up the essential tools I would need to hunker down at home for however long. I set up a temporary workstation in my bedroom then tried to get comfortable—although that word seems like an ambiguous term considering the circumstances. I remember going on Instagram for a few minutes that day and I came across a post encouraging people to take care of one another. Without a second thought, I shared it to my story with a few words about how 9/11 stopped the world in its tracks, but the world seemed to change for the better on 9/12.

When the sun rose on September 12, 2001, it was with a renewed sense of unity, new gravity. Singers composed songs about going after what really mattered. People started acting like life was really sacred—as if simply thinking life was sacred wasn’t enough. They had to act on it. The nation became wary of security and fear was present, but millions pushed through to do something that tangibly mattered, that made the difference for someone else.

The COVID-19 pandemic is this generation’s 9/11. But we have it in our power to respond as if our 9/12 is right around the corner. And we will do this by finding ways to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Caring for One Another in a Pandemic

As the rona built up speed and blazed its way through Italy, the world kept hearing that only a small percentage of people were at risk. Millions would surely contract it, but only some people were likely to suffer and die.

The elderly and the immunocompromised made up this small group. I have two of these people in my immediate family. I had fearful visions that at the end of this pandemic, when the worst was over, I would have to bury multiple family members and loved ones.

But no other person in my circle is more at risk than my sister.

Chelsea is immunocompromised. Diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis years ago, she is the No. 1 person I know who is at the greatest risk right now.

That’s scary.

She and I have an Easter tradition. Since 2018 we’ve spent the holiday weekend together. It’s a few days we get to enjoy relaxing, talking, adventuring and drinking lots of coffee. I always fly to Austin, Texas, to stay with her. A couple months ago, I texted her and asked what I should do when the time finally came for me to fly there. What did she need me to do to keep her risk of exposure low?

I wouldn’t have been able to handle the heaviness of exposing my compr...