Mark Hitchcock - Corona Crisis

Corona Crisis

2020 Mark Hitchcock

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ISBN 978-0-7852-4003-7 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020936438

ISBN 978-0-7852-4002-0

Epub Edition April 2020 9780785240037

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

To my grandson Reed Wilson Hitchcock

I thank God daily for adding your smile

and sunlight to our family. Just thinking

about you makes me smile. I cant remember

what we did without you. I look forward

to watching you grow up and, by Gods

grace, come to know and love Jesus.

Are we approaching those days of

which the Bible speaks? Are the events

of our time meant to warn us of even

greater disastersdisasters predicted

by the Bible that will be harbingers of

Christs coming judgment and rule?

BILLY GRAHAM, STORM WARNING

From now on, it can be said that plague was the concern of all of us.

ALBERT CAMUS, THE PLAGUE

O n February 29, 2020, my wife, Cheryl, and I left our home in Edmond, Oklahoma, for a thirteen-day trip to Israel. We could never have imagined how drastically the world would change by the time we returned.

Our flight from the States to Tel Aviv connected in Frankfurt, Germany. The airport there was eerily quiet and empty, but when we arrived in Israel, the place was bustling with excited tourists. Everything seemed normal. Tour groups from China and South Korea were prohibited, but groups from the United States were abundant.

Cheryl and I were joined a few days after our arrival by the rest of the tour group we were leading. COVID-19, a new form of coronavirus, was in the news when we departed, but its potential impact on the US was still being watched and weighed. There was a looming sense of concern and uncertainty; however, the virus had not yet erupted into a full pandemic, as the hot zones were still China and South Korea.

Fast-forward several days. The coronavirus had quickly mushroomed in Europe, especially Italy. Israel had acted quickly and decisively, barring all arriving flights from Europe and other affected areas.

A few days before we were set to return to the States, everyones phones began blowing up. An NBA player for the Utah Jazz, which was scheduled to play the Oklahoma City Thunder, was diagnosed with the virus. The game in Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Arena was canceled just before tip-off.

The virus had hit home.

From there the dominoes began to fall. President Trump canceled all flights to the US from Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland (though they would be included later). Everyone in our tour group with a connection in Europe had to reschedule their flights. Frustrating calls to overwhelmed airlines dragged on for several hours. Relatives and friends back home were concerned about our safe and speedy return. My wife was barraged with text messages from anxious loved ones.

Our tour group was one of the final ones to exit Israel. No more groups were allowed to leave after we did. During our final day of touring in Jerusalem, the streets were virtually empty. Vendors were absent. Shops were closed. Israel was preparing to hunker down for the long haul.

When we finally arrived back home, after only two weeks away, it felt as if we had returned to a different countrya strange new world. Its difficult to describe how we felt, but it was profoundly surreal. Our time in Israel had distanced and insulated us from the surging chaos and upheaval back home. Cable news shows in the US had coronavirus coverage 24/7. Store shelves were ransacked. Bottled water was scarce. Toilet paper was nowhere to be found. Quarantines were mandated. Cruise ships were stranded. Events of all kinds were canceled. The NBA, NHL, and MLB all suspended their seasons. High school and college sports seasons were ended. The NCAAs March Madness was scratched. Schools closed. Restaurants suspended dine-in service. Bars shut down. Pastors preached to empty pews and chairs as church services were broadcast via livestream. Streets emptied. Gatherings of more than ten people were forbidden. Global stock markets collapsed.

Just as we returned, President Trump, surrounded by an august group of health experts, rallied the American people to significantly limit social interaction for fifteen days to break the back of the virus and flatten the curve of infection. The lockdown dragged on. Uncertainty and panic spread.

The world was changed forever.

SIGNPOST ON THE ROAD TO ARMAGEDDON

As I am writing, we are still in the midst of the crisis, and the main concerns of all Americans and citizens of other affected nations are the physical health and safety of our families, neighbors, and friends. Thats priority one. But people are also gravely concerned about their jobs and the economy. We all hope and pray that the hit on the economy wont crater into a deep recession or even a depression. Physical and fiscal health are the two overriding concerns, and they are deeply interconnected. Yet theres another issue thats lurking in the minds of many people, a lingering concern that what were seeing may be a portent of things to comea harbinger of the end of days.

As my wife and I were standing in line in Tel Aviv to board our delayed flight to Newark, New Jersey, two young men were standing just in front of us. I struck up a conversation with them, and at one point one of them looked at my wife and me with a bewildered expression on his face and said, I dont know what in the world is going on. I think the world is about to end.