The night desk manager was really nice and wrote everything down longhand. He asked me to come talk to the manager the next day. He got me some water and snacks and then showed me to my room, which was only 2 doors down.
I woke up the next morning, hearing people talking and the song "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" being played and sung. And Billy called, saying he hadn't gotten his meds and that his teammates were mad at him because he didn't understand the games so he ran back to his room. So, I called his leader, the youth pastor, and then the special needs' director. They got his meds and left him to acclimate for a while. I got up and got ready and decided to have an easy day and went to Kittery, Maine and visited a Trading Post. Then I went to Kennebunk and Kennebunkport to see some houses. The next day, I got up early and drove to Cape Cod and then took a ferry to Martha's Vineyard and watched seagulls fighting over a package of hot dogs and picked up some shells. I took a ferry to Nantucket but I couldn't find the beach for the shops. On the ferry back, I was soaked with sea spray. I got back late. The next day I got up early to go to Boothbay Harbor to take a cruise out to see Puffins and other birds. Then I drove to Bangor to see Stephen King's house. Then I went to Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park and took a sunset cruise. It ended up raining so no sunset, but we saw seals. I picked a restaurant and ordered crab cakes and a lobster roll that I ate in the car. It was delicious. The rain stopped, so I went and did a little shopping. When I headed home, I got a phone call from Billy's group leader saying that he had the best news ever, that Billy ha accepted Christ and wanted to be baptized. I was so happy but cautious. I could imagine Scott and Sue celebrating in heaven. It started pouring rain and the 3 1/2 hour drive seemed to last forever. I didn't get to sleep until 1am, but I had to get up at 4am to drive to Boston, return the car, and get on the plane. I'd shopped enough, I ended up checking a bag. I slept through most of the flights. I arrived at 3:05pm, got my car, and went to get a drink and Billy's meds. His doctor wanted to change some of his meds to address his violence. Billy was supposed to arrive at 5, but at 4:15, while I was in line at Walgreen's, he called that he was at the church. As I arrived, it was pouring. I parked in the handicap spots as close as I could get. Billy couldn't find me, so I walked around looking for him. Found him back at the car, mad and cursing at me for his getting wet which was somehow my fault. I was disappointed to see the same behavior. He ended up apologizing because he was mad that he lost his backpack with his wallet inside it. I called his leader and the youth pastor and they said they'd look for it. He found his wallet with him and they found his backpack. He told me he'd felt pressured to pray to accept Christ and he didn't understand, so I took him through the My SharePal app and explained things to him. He said he believed and wanted to be baptized. They couldn't do a baptism the first Wednesday because a lot of the kids that went to ONEweek came back with Covid. So, he's supposed to get baptized next Wednesday and they're working to find a way to disciple him.
I also came home to hear my pastor preaching a series about humility and talking about opinions. He said he doesn't see why we need a vaccine for an illness that has a 99% survival rate and that he won't force anyone to wear a mask, but if he'd had a a loved one die or if he were an ICU nurse he might have a different opinion. But opinions aren't worth fighting over. He definitely presented the anti-masker, anti-vaxxer position the most and got lots of agreement from the crowd. I was angry. Arrena asked if I was going to send him a message. I did:
I met you a few months ago at one of the Dinners with the Pastors events. I said I was a nee widow whose husband died from Covid. You told me to call on you if there was ever anything you could do for me. Today I feel degraded and dismissed. I respectfully disagree with some of the things that you said in yesterday's sermon. I understand that your main point was that Christians disagree and fight over opinions, but my husband's death is not an opinion, it's a fact. It's very hurtful when I hear people say there's a 99% chance of survival when my husband was in the percentage that died. My husband as more than a number, more than a statistic. He was a paramedic who saved lives. He was a follower of Christ that taught me more about the love of the Father than anyone ever has. He took my children is as his own and raised them even though he never got to hear "daddy" or walk one of my daughters down the aisle. He gasped for every breath for two weeks but still praised God while he was dying in the hospital alone. You didn't know him but he was faithful and watched you preach from his hospital bed. He's still paying for my daughter's upcoming wedding, still providing for me, and still giving to this church. I know that the Bible says that everyone's days are numbered before there was ever one of them, so I know that those that died would have died regardless of the reason. But I would hate to be personally responsible for that death because I didn't wear a mask. We know so little about Covid that we don't know anything about the long term effects of those who do survive. Myself, my daughter, and my son--our sense of smell has never been the same since we had Covid. People end up with ringing in their ears or long-term damage to the lungs, heart, kidneys, brain, and other organs. Just because you don't die doesn't mean Covid won't affect people in profound ways. I don't wear a mask to protect myself. I wear a mask to protect others around me. I wear the mask because I care about others and I think that should be the focus. As Christians we're told to look to the needs of others not ourselves. As for the 99%, I think of the passage in Luke 15 where Jesus left the 99 to go after the one. I'm reminded of Paul's letter to the Corinthians about meat offered to idols: "But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble." And "All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor." We check our liberty where it affects our brother and if that means that we might make someone sick then we should be the first to mask up. If we say we value life, then why don't e act like it and at the very least cover up our germs? I know the Bible doesn't say anything specific about Covid but we apply biblical principles to those things that are not covered. I was going to GriefShare at (my church) but when the leaders started talking about their opinions of Covid, knowing what I'd been through, I quit going. It was no longer comforting and too hurtful to listen to people say that. And I have found that the people who are the most insensitive towards me as a widow are those that are Christians. All I hear is about how their freedoms are being taken away. I've even been told by a Christian friend that it's my husband's fault he died because he wasn't 100% healthy. If I wasn't so strong in my faith, that would be a stumbling block to me. Thankfully my faith is in God, not the church. It's sad that my husband's death has become fodder for everyone else's opinion. If my husband had died of cancer, no one would have anything to say, but because Covid is political, everyone thinks they have a right to their opinion. It shouldn't be political because it's people's lives. You were right about what you said: if you had lost a family member or friend, you'd have a different opinion. No one will truly understand unless sthey have to go through it. And he's not the only one I know that's died. 1% seems a lot bigger when I know 4 people who have died. In the end, I guess my point is that wearing masks and being vaccinated shouldn't be an "opinion" amongst Christians. The question should be "what can I do to help my brother or sister? What can I do to help those who haven't yet given their life to Christ?
To be continued...
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