My husband has worked in the travel industry for almost 20 years. Together, we weathered the catastrophe of 911 when travel came to a screeching halt. I’ll never forget the day the planes crashed into the Twin Towers. At the time, Justin and Sarah were watching Sesame Street; a friend called and said, “Missy, turn on the news.” Like everyone else in America, I was stunned.

I frantically called Tim at work. He was inundated with travelers desperately trying to get home to their families. It was a frightening time for all of us; we had no idea what might be coming next. Soon, no one was traveling, and the travel industry throughout our country was significantly impacted. Tim’s employer did everything they could do to stay afloat. All bonuses were cut; they reduced wages and laid off scores of employees. Tim was one of the few to keep his job.

And now, here we are, all these years later facing another crisis; the coronavirus. Much like 911, this has taken me by surprise. Although I have followed some of the stories from China, I never imagined it hitting our country as it has, and never did I imagine the virus directly impacting our family.

Since my husband works from home, I am keenly aware when he is swamped or if he’s having a slow day. As you can imagine, over the last few weeks, things have slowed down considerably. Three days ago, he told me that the CEO of his company announced a town hall meeting, it was held yesterday. Together, Tim and I imagined that there would have to be some cutbacks. But, we were stunned when his CEO announced an eight-week lay-off for all, without pay, effective immediately.

Last night, as I lay in bed considering the ins and outs of our new normal, I was reminded of a prayer I prayed soon after we lost our son, Justin. I asked the Lord to use every ounce of our pain for His glory, I didn’t want one tear to be wasted. I feel the same way about Tim’s lay-off and our uncertain future.

And would you know, this morning, as I walked through our neighborhood, I believe that the Lord gave me the idea to chronicle our journey of the ups and downs of the coronavirus-layoff.

Day One

Today was our first day of Tim being officially home; we’ll call it the honeymoon.  For the sake of our boys, we stuck to our morning routine. Since losing Justin, any change is twice as hard on them. We had a few meltdowns and a lot of words and hugs of reassurance. After lunch, Tim took them to the park to play, the rule is, no climbing on the equipment because of germs. As I write, they are snuggly tucked into their beds with a much lighter heart than they awoke this morning.

Our daughter’s job is still secure, and I couldn’t be happier for her.
As for Tim and I, we are praying, crunching numbers, and fully committed to trusting the Lord, minute by minute.

I remember how the Lord sustained me after we lost Justin.  Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, I can say with certainty, “Surely God is my hope; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” Psalm 54:4

Until tomorrow,

Missy

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