If COVID has taught us anything, it is to care for others

A week later, my husband saw her in the grocery store, and she noted his wearing of gloves. She hadn’t been able to find any, so we brought over an extra box of our medium-sized gloves to help with her anxiety.
    

It’s harder now, as restrictions have become tighter, to check in. But the other night, she called because she had fallen and injured her hip. Her garbage can was filled to the brim with yard clippings from her landscaper; could we bring it out to the driveway?
    

Of course, my husband went over and assisted – returning home and thoroughly washing his hands.
    

Even in these times of crisis, I think it’s important that we continue reaching out to those around us. The form of our reaching out will most certainly change, but we must be mindful of our neighbors, particularly those at risk.
    

In the United Kingdom, workers in the National Health Service have been greeted by applause and the symbol of the rainbow – the hope that the brightly colored bow inspires, but also the reminder of God’s faithful promise to Noah after the flood. That rainbow, our Bible tells us, was God’s message of his covenant between himself and all living creatures, a reminder that he would never again destroy life as had happened with the flood. 
    

Here, too, our health care workers have been greeted with chalked rainbows lining hospital sidewalks. 
    

A friend of mine working in the hospital told me how moved she was by the drawings after emerging from a long shift. 
    

These small reminders of hope and faith in everyday heroes are our ways of reaching out to say thank you as so many risk so much in their daily battle to save lives.
    

We know that life after the pandemic will be changed. We know that the world will no longer look the same. 
    

I was giving a historical overview of Britain after World War II to my literature students as we embark on the poetry of the post-war generation. In discussing Winston Churchill as the figure of unity and hope during the war, I focused on his reception after the war. Churchill longed for a return to pre-war Britain – the focus on Empire and the rigidness of class hierarchies – but the war had taken its toll, and the people were changed. 
    

The same will be true when we emerge from the darkness of COVID-19, because emerge we will.
    

Just as we emerged from the wars and the Spanish Flu of 1918, we will withstand the devastation created by this pandemic. The question of what the world will look like and the changes it will make remains to be answered.
    

If the resurrection of Easter serves as a reminder, we, too, will experience a rebirth. And, just as Lent prepares us for the salvation promised us, perhaps we can imagine our times of isolation and social distancing as similar Lenten experiences. 
    

We’re being prepared to reimagine the world we live in, the communities we choose to participate in, the people we become. Hopefully, the direction of care, of concern and of faithful inspiration can become beacons of light for that future.
    

Dr. Heather Bozant Witcher can be reached at [email protected].