As Memorial Day draws near, to my family it is not a typical Memorial Day weekend. 

We usually head out on the first camping trip of the season but will not be able to this year, due to the pandemic.  This first trip of the season is an adventure, as usually something on the camper blows out, breaks, leaks, collapses or someone in our troop of campers (including the dogs) gets sick, hurt, runs into a wild animal (usually a skunk) and we forget about how bad are the bugs.  It has been hot, cold, rainy, lightening, windy and even snowed on us.  It is always a learning curve, every……single…….year!  One would think that we would learn but no, we are so excited to get out, we forget everything that we learned from the years before.  (Isn’t that a definition of insanity??)  But we adapt, adjust, laugh, and enjoy being with our friends and family.

One thing we make sure that we do as a family this week, every year, is to go to Fort Snelling National Cemetery to pay our respects to the fallen.  We donate to Flags for Heroes.  We place flowers at my father’s head stone.  We stand in silence under the Avenue of Flags.  This year, we will still go and do these things but with masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing.  This is very important to us as a family and we will adapt. 

It seems that all we have been doing lately is adapting!  It is at times tedious and I struggle to remember that there are worse situations where people have had to adapt.  Soldiers must adapt in a moment to new orders, being away from home, foreign lands, and the loss of fellow soldiers. Many families must adapt to deployments, unemployment, sickness, and loss of loved ones.  The disciples and His followers had to adapt to Jesus’ death on the cross and the loss of his guidance.

So, in this time of uncertainty, job loss, sickness and loss of life, my adapting to this pandemic is minimal compared to so many others.  I hope and pray that your adapting to the pandemic is not overwhelming and devastating, that you have the love of your friends and family and God to surround you.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”       Romans 12:2​