Love in the Time of Coronavirus
In the name of God, I, Amelia, take you, Austin, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live.
I have been waiting to say these words for 183 days, and, God willing, I only have 112 still to wait. Recently they’ve taken on even greater meaning—especially the words ‘for better for worse...in sickness and in health.’ Over this last week, like everyone in the United States, I watched the COVID19 virus transform the world around me. And like most of you, I am still reeling from the change, still processing what it all means. What it means for me, for my job, for my fiance, for our families, for our wedding.
In the words of the iconic Sharpay Evans from the Disney Channel’s High School Musical, This is not what I want. This is not what I planned. And I just have to say, I do not understand! The wedding was supposed to be something to count down and look forward to. A time to bring together those nearest and dearest to us, to consecrate our love in the presence of our families. But now it’s hard to know what that day will look like. I mean, who knows what any part of life will look like in a global pandemic!
Earlier this week Mom and I drove to the seamstress to pick up my wedding dress. It was good to get out of the house and enjoy a drive through the first early spring we’ve had in 20 years. The seamstress greeted us, and asked how the wedding planning was going. “Oh, you know. As well as it can!” I said. We all shrugged, sighed, and shared a knowing smile. It was a weird question to answer. It’s a weird situation to be in.
In moments like these it’s easy to feel like I’ve been robbed of the easy happiness that follows engagement. Instead, the messy parts of life came fast and furious for us. Sometimes it feels like there are three of us in this relationship: me, Austin, and our good friend Corona ‘Rona, the Coronavirus. But that’s what ‘Rona does to everyone—gets up in our business. In our communities, in our friendships, in our jobs. But no matter how much the virus separates us from our friends and families, from restaurants and theaters, even from paychecks and nonessential doctor’s appointments, there is one thing that the virus cannot strip from us: the insurmountable love of Christ.
It seems oddly fitting that the effects of this pandemic hit the North Country smack in the middle of Lent. Lent is a time when we are invited to strip down, examine our own lives as we enter the desert with Christ. We recognize the reality of human suffering, and what a stark reminder of suffering we have in the form of global pandemic. Lent is also a time when we recognize the depth of God’s love and grace for us. Because of His humanity, Christ knows our suffering, and suffers with us.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…”
He suffers with us, so that we might live through Him, that we are not bound to the suffering of the world around us. Instead we have joy everlasting in Him, no matter our situation.
God has not abandoned this world. Instead, He is with the doctor that goes to work in a hospital knowing that there aren’t enough supplies to protect her. He is with the grocery store clerk that shows up each day to provide for his family and make sure that his friends can still buy milk and medicine. He is with each of us, every day, in our anxiety and in our sorrow, because of the depth of His love for us.
I suppose I’m not wrong in that there are three of us in this relationship, but the third certainly isn’t ‘Rona. It's me and Austin and God himself, who is the source of all love. And when that perfect day comes when I can finally say those words to Austin, the love we share will be one that reflects the love between Christ and his Church, a love far greater than any ability any of us have to love on our own.
And it will be perfect, no matter what is happening in the world around us, because we’ll be together. …For better for worse, for richer for poor, in sickness and in health… . Real talk though, I know life is complicated, but it sure would be nice if things weren’t quite this complicated.
