Corona Quicksand

My experience with Quicksand is zero except for what I’ve seen in old westerns. Watching a victim sink into the miry muck is quite frightening. The danger is not obvious until it suddenly snares the animal or person in a liquefied soil that creates a sucking trap. A nightmare scenario for sure! If the victim flails around—and who wouldn’t—the situation causes the entrapped to sink deeper. Escape only comes when someone comes to the rescue.

The Pandemic we are experiencing could be called Corona Quicksand. It came upon us quite unexpectedly and has sucked us into a spongy situation with few opportunities to escape. The pictures of the virus are enough to instill fear. The round ball with porcupine suckers is a nightmare scenario.

We are stuck in Corona Virus Quicksand and trying desperately to get out. We are told that it is too dangerous for older people to venture out into the world for fear of contracting the virus. My question is:  When will it ever be safe? I decided to test the waters.

Small businesses in Georgia are starting to reopen. Yesterday I got my hair cut and had a long over-due massage. I was quite impressed with the precautions taken at each location. My temperature was scanned. The technician only let me in the building when it was time for my appointment. Everyone wore masks and sanitized workstations between each customer. It was cleaner there than at my own house.

I heard stories from the technicians about how difficult it has been for them to stay home and not get a paycheck for the last month. Most of these folks are independent contractors who have yet to get stimulus checks from the government.

The medical experts and the politicians have tough decisions to make. Whatever they decide will be criticized. If we wait for a vaccine to be available before we get our economy up and running, the sucking sound of a great depression will get louder each month.

Our current situation reminds me of a Bible verse in the book of Psalms. King David is praising God for rescuing him from the pit of sin when he writes:

“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.” Psalms 40:2

Just like escaping quicksand requires a rescuer, we need to pray that God will rescue our nation and our world from this virus and put us back on a firm foundation.