Friday 27 March 2026: Lockdown: Looking Back

Today, exactly 6 years ago, we woke up to a quiet world: It was "deep lockdown". 

No runners, cyclists or dog-walkers in the streets, no frustrating school run traffic (apart from the essential services). 

We weren't allowed outside,  alarm clocks went off a little later. Work-life resumed in sweats with a long day of zoom calls for the dad and student sharing our matchbox living.

I decided to post a blog every day, after I realised my job was an utterly unsuccessful online disaster. 

Resigned to being the chief cook and bottle washer, I honed my baking skills for morning and afternoon tea breaks when the men stepped out of the screens they were operating in.

After we realised this wasn't over at the end of the first 21 days, life sort of settled into an unorthodox rhythm of blurred lines as we all attempted the new normal of "@worklivesleepeatsocialise" all in one space. 

Fortunately the human race (especially in South Africa) posesses the ablility to joke about happenings such as this. 

My fellow matchboxers were called my Quaranteam and Antisocial Distancing became the new avoidance excuse.

The day we heard we were allowed to get takeaway coffee, was widely celebrated. My coffee friend Natasha and I were like cowboys, constantly dashing to new coffee stops serving takeaways, yearning for a little interlude of real people connecting.

Other things deserving a mention is the toilet paper crisis, all the criminal-looking people in the supermarkets and discussions in the queue about the 'strip-and-wash' routine after shopping trips. On day 1 we discovered the refusal of sales in the electronics and shoe departments after our brand new microwave broke and junior realised he was out of stokeys.

All of us have stories of where we were when we heard and what we felt throughout. This is the unifying factor literally every single human being can identify with when looking back to Lockdown.

On this day 44 years ago, my journey with the love of my life started when he visited me for the first time. Little did we know we would experience such a thing as a lockdown in this lifetime. 

Looking back helps to focus on the way forward. May we all stretch out to what is yet to come, with our God firmly in the driver's seat. He really has got this.

Monday 23 March 2026: 6 years

Exactly 6 years ago, also a Monday, the abominable virus elicited a lockdown  announcement which was implemented four days later. 

I distinctly remember first thinking, "aaaagggh they won't go through with this" and then, "how bad can 21 days really be, we all need a good rest"......., ha - ha.

As the four days flew by, my  brain was screaming,  "Brakes!!!! Put on the brakes!"

I wondered if anybody ever stopped to think about this, I mean really think about the ridiculouseness of what they were about to do.

Today I am wondering if any of the people who started it actually look back now and realise the incomprehensibility of shutting down the world. 

That is, of course, 

assuming there was no distinct plan of getting the whole world to be só scared of an abominable virus 

they would actually agree to the most preposterous thing ever in the history of mankind.

In retrospect not even one regulation of this world shutdown ever made sense. Even more so, none of them actually worked. 

For me, the only valid thing was to alert people to the importance of washing your hands properly / sanitising.

What I rather would want to remember is the amazing ability of us normal people who had to survive no matter what, with a special salute to all those in essential services!

 

So here's to the ones who literally beat the virus and  those who helped them do it, the ones who reimagined themselves and their businesses (both online and physically) and those who stood their ground even with the birth and rapid takeover of artificial intelligence.

Despite the obsessive hoarding of coffee, chocolate and preferred alcoholic beverages, we managed to come out of this a tad less serious about life in general.

And we learned to trust the One who is still eternally changeless, our Light in the darkness:

God, who still has got this.

A little big traffic story.

Einstein once said, " You're never in the wrong place. Sometimes you're in the right place looking at things in the wrong way."

True happiness is the gift of contentment beyond the physical. In spite of circumstance. 

Last week I landed in a tight spot of slow traffic. I managed to stop 1mm short of the vehicle in front of me after a traffic regulator stopped us abruptly, reason unknown. Unfortunately the vehicle behind me collided with my rear bumper. 

So one could argue I was in the wrong place but the right time as I had an appointment. Although no one wants to be in this position, stuff happen , and then you are. 

In this case we were in the busiest hub of pickup traffic for workers from surrounding areas. We were escorted to a rural police station closeby for all the paperwork which the friendly police officer offered to fill out on our behalf. 

So there we were, two people on our way to start our work day. Stopped. Held up. A little dazed. This is where I started to notice how the "wrong place" can become the right place. 

The place the collision happend was like a beehive, really busy. But we were calm, friendly and courteous amidst the throng. Maybe because we both knew no one was at fault. 

The police station was empty, apart from the people behind the desk. It was quiet and calm. Sort of like an out of body moment. And then we started talking about God.

By this time my son had arrived, flanking his Mom like a bodyguard. I felt the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit in that little police station. 

The man sitting across from me remarked how sorry he was about my car and how glad he was that I was all right. Upon my reply that I felt the same, He said, "But God", pointing upwards.

He told of God's provision in his life, of his 2 year old toddler he named his business after who survived a vaccine allergy with a tracheotomy. And how God also does miracles. I was touched beyond words. 

Here I was, worlds away from where I should've been, worlds apart from this faith filled young man across the table, but incredibly connected by God who is the author of right places.

I later learned the police officer wasn't required to do all the paperwork for us, or take the other driver home. 

All these people gave me hope for us all. Maybe the governance should start "on the ground" to learn how they should do their jobs. 

Fannie Flagg from Fried Green Eggs once said, " If there is such a thing as complete happiness, it is knowing that you are in the right place."

God has undoubtedly got this.

Faith

Both faith and fear require you believe in something you can't see. It's your choice.

The beauty lies in the fact that faith has a Teacher who does training. In order for any training to internalise with impact and change, submission to the program is required.

Real submission is yielding to the learning curve without reading the small print. This is the only way true learning can happen. 

So let's talk real. Faith vs fear. The following example might be an "unfair" one, as we all need it, but maybe this is the best example of faith vs fear.

Taking out an insurance policy (medical or otherwise) has always been a controversial thing. If you don't take it out, you aren't covered if something happens. Then, when something does happen, you are confronted with the fear of other things that can happen. So, you take out the  insurance.

And then, a couple of years down the line you haven't claimed for anything and you ask that question... what you could have done with all the funds had you not taken out the policy in the first place?

This is because we allow fear to dominate the scene. You fear a cataclysmic disaster, therefore you put your faith in a policy. Now I know insurance is essential, so how do we have faith inside of taking out that policy?

Easy! You go to the Teacher of faith and you do what He says. Once you understand what is expected, faith overrides fear. Then you don't take out a policy because you fear a disaster, you take out a policy because He teaches you to be prepared. So your decision becomes faith based.

Faith needs constant infusion of the God kind, so submission in the Word and following that mantra makes for a sound mind, 

no fear 

no dread

no confusion 

just Trust and Truth.

The above is essential in all situations. Disease, relationships, jobs plus matters of the spirit and heart. The absence of fear creates the perfect ground for sanctification. This is because God loves us with a perfect love. 

Take it in.

Change the perspective.

God's got this.

No man is an Island

Almost everything I do triggers amygdala responses linked to someone who was or is in my sphere. Standing in the rain this morning enjoying my cuppa, the sounds of the breaking day immediately triggers memories of my Dad. I can't think why specifically, but the look and feel was one of happiness and home. 

I smear a little butter on my toast and think of my Mom making us cinnamon toast in the middle of a thunderstorm. I drink black coffee and my sisters are here with me and I walk in the garden, and their voices echo in my head.

What I'm trying to get at, is the fact that whether or not you choose it your relationships and experiences, however mundane and small, all shape you in a way. Some leave deep grooves and forge habits for a lifetime, and some just linger to pop up when needed.

The age old quote of John Donne, " No man is an Island....." doesn't stop there. The full quote says, "No man is an Island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."

We are part of the whole, which means it always takes a village..... Even if you don't see it. You can be trapped on an island alone, but sooner or later you need company. 

The movie Cast Away portrays the character of Chuck Noland who survives a plane crash and years alone on an island with the all important 'company' of a soccerball.

He spoke of the reality of being isolated, and choosing life only to lose the love of his life. He said, "I've got to keep breathing, because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide will bring." 

We have been designed to be a part of something greater. Just connect with one person and be in the moment, and the world becomes a better place. Some connections stay for a while, some clock up a lifetime of memories and some leave a glittered footprint , albeit short-lived.

But all of them come to fill your life with purpose, love and a glimpse of the divinity of God. Specifically to carry us into the next part of our journey, to use the stored up glitter for a new tide.

God makes the sun to rise and brings in the tide. 

He's got this.