May We Have a List, God?

“Oh great,” I called out to my brother, Gus, who was in his bedroom down the hall from my office. He’s been staying with us during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What?”

“Now there’s an Ebola epidemic in the Congo,” I said. “If people start flying again, we’ll probably have Ebola in the U.S. within six months.”

“I would hope that the airlines would take precautions before allowing people from the Congo to get on a plane,” Gus said.

“I think they’ll be very cautious with this epidemic, ” I said.

“I hope so,” Gus said. “But I’m wearing a mask for the rest of my life.”

I laughed. “I’ll start making you face masks featuring bands from the 1980s, then.”

That got a chuckle from Gus. But he didn’t say no to my offer. Gus loves his 80s bands.

“But, seriously, these are scary times we’re living in,” I said. “COVID, rioting in the streets over the murder of George Floyd, systemic racism and sexism in our society, people shooting up schools and businesses, the opioid epidemic, an increase in mental illness, and now Ebola. God is definitely sending us a message.”

“But what is the message?” Gus asked.

“We need to change,” I said.

“Change what?” Gus asked. “Change everything, I guess. But what in particular is God telling us to do differently?”

“I’ll need to think about this,” I said. “I’m not good at giving well-thought-out responses off-the-cuff. But, I do think God is telling us something.”

“I agree,” Gus said, “But at this point, we are going to need instructions.”