Temporary.

A little over a week ago, my in-laws were traveling back from Europe. We made jokes before they left about avoiding the plague and I said I’d be scanning their foreheads upon their return. It didn’t seem as serious a week ago.

Then, things changed… and they changed quick. They keep changing, almost hour to hour. Schools are shut down, likely for the rest of the school year. Churches are cancelling services. Events cancelled or postponed. Sports are suspended indefinitely. Even our parks are closed. The word quarantine is everywhere. People are stalking the shipment trucks at our local grocery stores. People are fighting over toilet paper.

It feels apocalyptic.

And maybe it is.

It really, truly hit me a week ago. My son was at school and I went to Walmart to get groceries. Everything felt… different. I was driving back home and it just hit me… one day, this world as we know it actually will end. Am I really ready? What if it was today?

It’s bizarre to think about. Every single thing here is just temporary and could go away in an instant.

“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Temporary. This world is not my home.

I say the words, but it became real to me this week.