By Barbara Diana Gilbert
The end of 2019 came in its usual fashion…just a normal day with its end-of-year fanfare. Folks were making plans to celebrate the close of the old year and the arrival of 2020. The silent enemy was already lurking in the shadows…not a sound…not even a sign but unfortunately life was about to change and for the worse.
My Church’s New Year’s Eve service was a celebration in its own right. Thousands were in attendance and the flow of the message enlightened hearts with a resound all its own. New Year’s day arrived with a bang…mighty cheering, trumpets, balloons and whistles…even hugs and kisses. Many did not know then that they may have been silently invaded by a deathly virus… no symptoms.
Within a few weeks came the fatal announcement through the news media…that a virus named Covid19 was spreading rapidly around the World and had reached America. What followed thereafter could be described as the beginning of international pandemonium. The world was experiencing a pandemic unlike any other in my lifetime or any other lifetime for that matter and which few could comprehend or interpret. I was gripped by an uncontrollable fear unlike never before imagined… that mankind was on the verge of extinction … that we had come to an inevitable end.
The authority figures of all nations worldwide began a massive shutdown of their borders and airports from outgoing and incoming traffic in an effort to stop the surge of this horrific virus. Schools were closed; Jobs were closed: Countries around the World were on lockdown including cities and towns across the board but it was too late. The virus was already spreading rapidly and had already seeped into the lives of many households. My first thought as a Christian was that our Supreme God was warning his people and that we all had to pray for mercy… that the rapture was finally here.
The hospitals were overflowing with casualties. Many started to die slowly at first, then in the hundreds eventually escalating to thousands. The sick and dying reached astronomical proportions and worse, many who lost loved ones, could not see them for the last time after they passed away. Families were pulled away from their loved ones in such grief and horror unlike anything ever seen. There was pain and suffering, heartbreak and bewilderment, chaos and confusion, one could not explain. The news reports around the world were just as grim or even worse. Millions were dying in hospitals …some in their various homes and others from shock and grief. It was an unprecedented moment and an unexplained phenomenon.
In the midst of this fear my first thought was survival….reaching out to family members and friends far and near yet alive. Giving hope and encouragement and in the interim, trying to keep a handle on my own weakness, fear and vulnerability in accepting what my eyes had just witnessed …..A silent enemy…or the surge of an epidemic. This will forever go down in history.
We have to stop for a moment to salute all the doctors, nurses, medical professionals and frontliners who are giving their time so unselfishly and effortlessly and to forever keep in our hearts those we loved and lost.
The virus continues down its gruesome path, taking the lives of many. We continue to pray for a breakthrough.
Barbara Diana Gilbert Author of the book, Spiritual Journey of a Child, published other works, Spoken Word Poet
