This morning at 12:01 am, Mayor John Cooper issued a “Safer at Home” order for all Nashville residents. The order closes non-essential businesses and encourages residents throughout Davidson County to stay home when possible and avoid gatherings of over 10 people for non-essential purposes. In addition, all businesses not performing essential services were ordered to close for 14 days, starting at 12:01 a.m. Monday, March 23.

My company, HCA Healthcare had already implemented a Work From Home requirement last week for employees who are not essential to direct patient care. My church, St. George’s Episcopal Church has also gone to live streaming their Sunday and Daily Worship services for which I am grateful.

As I think through what the next days and weeks will bring, I am blessed to be healthy and to have a job where I can work from home. Many of my friends in the service industries are not as fortunate and I pray that this will be short-lived.

I am also a realist and believe that this time will usher in a cultural change for us as a nation. Similar to the time after WWII, or 9/11, the nation came together to protect each other and to rise as a community. We’ll look at how we spend our time much differently and hopefully spend it more wisely when the choices are again unlimited. 

It is widely believed that St. Paul wrote 4 letters while in prison: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. His desire to be with his communities was not dampened, but the vehicle was changed since he could no longer be with them in person. 

As we now have time to pause and think, how will we intentionally spend our time? I predict that our musicians will head to the studios and in 4-6 months we’ll have some great albums to listen to. Perhaps there will be others who are writers who will pen great verses that will enrich our lives later in the year. I’ve started a new book on the Gospel and Letters of John. Maybe now is a good time for me to devote my evenings engrossed in these Bible verses seeking both solace and wisdom.

How will you be spending your time now?

Blessings, my friend,
Agatha