Today is the first day of New Zealand’s nationwide coronavirus lockdown. It is also the day that my 15 month old twins chose to sleep in until really late – like 9am late – and then not nap until late afternoon, which is far too late if I want them (and me) to get to bed at a reasonable time. Their nap was limited to 15 minutes and there has been a lot of sadness in our house today. 

We started homeschooling Boy 1 (who was previously known on this blog as Baby S) at the start of this year, so in one way not a lot will necessarily change for us in terms of our day to day activity, although I can already see that life just at home with no playgrounds, bush walks, weekly homeschool meet ups, library visits and shopping is going to be hard. Pandemics seem like things that happen to other people, in distant times past. The 48 hours from the announcement that New Zealand would be going into lockdown to the point when it did felt like preparing for war, except the enemy was too small to be seen and could be lurking anywhere. This time has really made me seek the Lord more fervently. I know my salvation is secure in Him through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross but I struggle not to worry about what might happen to our children if we got sick or died. A nation joining many others throughout the world in lockdown because of a global pandemic highlights the limits of our human abilities, the uncertainy of our lives, our vulnerability, our lack of control.

The other day I read John 11, which describes the death of Lazarus and his resurrection from the dead by Jesus. It was good to be reminded, particularly in these times, that Jesus is lord over sickness and death. And so I’ll end these random thoughts with a couple of verses from that chapter, in which Jesus addresses Martha prior to bringing Lazarus back from the dead.

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11: 25-26).