Last week I was supposed to start a little job and earn a few extra bucks. I had a successful meeting on Monday where we laid out expectations and all. On Wednesday, when I was getting ready to go my phone 📱 rings.

“Hello Ona! Apparently one of the guys we are working with is not happy that we are bringing a foreigner. He has communicated with others and they are not happy as well. They want to take precautions …ehm…with the corona virus statistics growing everyday”. She goes on to apologize. “No worries at all, I totally understand.” Yes, I do understand. It is not her fault. These are some of the perks of being a foreigner😉. I am disappointed though. That money would have come in handy.

The truth is life is a humbling experience and nobody has it all figured out. We make plans but there is no guarantee that they will stick. The corona virus has brought uncertainty in the whole world. Plans have been halted;jobs will surely be lost; economic activity is at an all time low-the future does look gloomy. I had promised to take a friend out for coffee, not knowing that the following week I would be forced to stay in the house indefinitely 🤔. I am reminded of this word;

Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

Now we are here, indoors, not out of of choice. I bet all those who profess to love indoors would still feel a little claustrophobic. Well, not quite😄but something like it. Schools are closed. I don’t go to school but I prefer my children to. Apart from them getting educated, their time away makes my heart grow fonder. We don’t have endless fights, that’s why.

My kids are loud y’all’s. On a normal day, back home, that wouldn’t be a problem but we live in an apartment, in a quite neighborhood. We are forever walking on eggshells. The landlord has received complaints, not once but thrice that we make too much noise. Now if this virus doesn’t go away soon, I have a whole lot of mothering to do.

In the first paragraph I talked about how I lost a good opportunity and how our plans are never fool proof-because we don’t entirely hold the keys to the future. Loss happens all around us, unanticipated. I’ve seen titles like “From millionaire to homeless”🤔. In February I read two books – The last lecture co-authored by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslownd, and When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi. The two books are authored by young successful men who are diagnosed with cancer. They share how they gracefully brave their last days. Their message is clear – focus on things that matter.

I must admit they were not easy reads. My heart was sore throughout but sitting here and seeing the uncertainty brought by the corona virus, their message rings clear. The next few days or months will teach us what matters. We will learn to spend time at home with our loved ones. We will be creative in our boredom. We will diversify our wealth. We are all taking hygiene lessons, it can only get better. We will employ new educational methods. With church buildings closed, we will appreciate church outside a building. They say when a man is down, they can only go up. Where to from here? UP. We shall bounce back as long as we look to the one who holds the future and he is GOD.