Today as I was on my way home, I listened to the radio. I heard a song that brought the present dilemma into perspective. The song said, “He is in the eye of the storm, He is in the middle of the war, He is the anchor.” That is how I sincerely feel. God is in control. Will people get sick? Yes, people will get sick. Will some people die? Of course, they will. Where is God in all of this? He is beside you. He is before you. He is behind you. He has promised that he will never leave you.

When my husband got sick, I did not ask why me? Why him? I simply gave it to the Lord. In this crisis we all have to do this. What about those who do not believe in God? That is between them and their maker. Maybe after all of this is over, the Lord will have some new believers.

Do not get me wrong. I am fearful. I am anxious about how things will go. I worry about those young folks who are spending spring break on the beach thumbing their noses at the media. They feel they are invincible — they just might find out that they are wrong.

I am of the older generation so I also worry about my own health. I have wonderful immunity due to all of my years teaching school, but this is different. It is something that is brand new.

We are staying at home. I have plenty of food and I can cook. We did, however, miss our Friday night date night. Of course, that made us sad because we enjoy going out to eat. We also enjoy bowling and looked forward to our annual banquet. That seems to be off as well.

I am not complaining, just stating a fact. Everyone is suffering. We are all in this together. All of us must make sacrifices. Instead of thinking about what you are giving up think about what you still can do, what you still have.

You can go for a walk. You can do crafts if that is your pleasure. You can read. I have a good supply of books on my Kindle that I have not as yet read. I can work outdoors. My lawn certainly needs a lot of work so that should keep me busy for a while.

Yesterday we worked around the house. We took our snowblower down to put in the shed. I also have a lawnmower that needs repair. It was sitting in the garage making it difficult to get the car in. We used the air compressor to inflate the tires and rolled that down the driveway too. There was something therapeutic about that. Getting a job done is rewarding.

I also worked on church history for our 100th anniversary celebration. I am compiling the history of the women’s group. I have more than 70 years of history to read through. I am slowly but surely getting it done.

I also baked an apple pie. Did I tell you that I have a well-stocked pantry? I can cook and bake for a long time. That is how I ran my household because I never knew if I was going to get out or not. Don has teased me about being able to eat for years, but I think he appreciated the fact that I could put together a meal and serve a pie to boot.

This morning is wash day. We still have dirty clothes. Actually, after moving things yesterday our clothes got quite dirty. Now, wash day is nothing like it used to be. Now I just throw the clothes in the machine and let them wash, then I go and throw them in the dryer. After that is folding and putting away. This is a far cry from the way I used to do things.

Every morning Don does the crossword puzzles and the Scrambler in the newspapers. We get both The Post-Journal and the Times Observer.

This weekend was to have been our Pancake Supper in Akeley. Unfortunately, with all that is happening in the world it has been postponed. That supper has a history. In these minutes that I have been reading I found it mentioned in 1967. I am not sure if it started then, but that is the first thing I found.

Volunteer duties have been curtailed. No one wants us bringing anything in and we surely do not want to catch anything.

Being quarantined is not fun, but I believe it is necessary to stop the spread of this new virus. I have read about how a virus that was present in animals mutated into one that could transfer to people. They say it mutated again to be able to spread from person to person. Since it is brand new no one has immunity.

I feel for the small businesses that have had to close their doors. When all of this is over please patronize those small businesses.

They do not have corporate backing and will need your patronage. The restaurants are limping along doing take-out meals, but this is far less than they usually do. Remember that when you are allowed to go out to eat again.

Since I have veterinarians in my family, I know that they are still operating, but they are doing it differently. No human is allowed inside. The staff comes out to take the pets inside for treatment. At least they are still available to your pet.

This too will pass. When we come out on the other side be sure to say a prayer of thanks.

“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7: 14

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact her at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.