{"id":37699,"date":"2021-01-26T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/people-share-positive-things-that-happened-because-of-pande\/"},"modified":"2021-01-26T15:35:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-26T15:35:00","slug":"people-share-positive-things-that-happened-because-of-pande","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/people-share-positive-things-that-happened-because-of-pande\/","title":{"rendered":"People Share Positive Things That Happened Because Of The Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After Abraham Walker&rsquo;s older brother was shot and killed in a home invasion, he decided to move his family from New Orleans to Northern Virginia. He was drawn by the chance to give his boys a life in which they wouldn&rsquo;t see the loss of friends and relatives as &ldquo;normal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>He describes himself as an &ldquo;aggressive optimist&rdquo; who looks for the good during the awful, and when he doesn&rsquo;t see it, he tries to create it. It&rsquo;s why when he clicked on a Facebook page for residents in a neighboring county, he read through the posts and then started typing: &ldquo;What are some positive things that have happened to you because of COVID-19?&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n<p>In the days since, hundreds of people have responded, offering comments that tell of everything from simple appreciations to life-altering revelations:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I have been having the BEST time with my 4-year-old. I never thought of myself as a good mother, but this isolation has brought us so close together.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I successfully grew a tomato.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>We have a swing set in our yard now.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Before COVID I just got up late, ran around in a panic, usually in a bad mood or at least sad, endured a road rage-filled commute, and arrived at the office late. &#8230; Now I wake up and think, &ldquo;Oh, I woke up again&rdquo; and then I go out to my balcony amidst the pine trees and the chirping birds and rising sun.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Walker has also been thinking about some posts long after he read them:<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>I think a lot of people are going to be so traumatized by their old lives that they won&rsquo;t go back. I hope some people don&rsquo;t go back. That&rsquo;s the beautiful thing about destruction. You used to have a life. The coronavirus destroyed that life. You now get to decide how you rebuild that life.<\/p>\n<p>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p>Walker says his brother&rsquo;s death was a tragedy, but it pushed him to relocate to Northern Virginia, where his family has created a life, made friends, and connected with neighbors. He says, &ldquo;Look at the afterward. History tells us there is always an afterward.&rdquo;<\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[433],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3389,3454,3476,3621,3766,3769,3865,4167,4541,4546,4570,4665,4668,4802,4803,5061],"tax_ctp_topics":[395],"class_list":["post-37699","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-adversity","tax_ctp_tags-attitude","tax_ctp_tags-beginnings","tax_ctp_tags-circumstances","tax_ctp_tags-despair","tax_ctp_tags-destruction","tax_ctp_tags-endurance","tax_ctp_tags-hope","tax_ctp_tags-new-life","tax_ctp_tags-news-that-illustrates","tax_ctp_tags-optimism","tax_ctp_tags-positive-or-negative-tone","tax_ctp_tags-potential","tax_ctp_tags-renewal","tax_ctp_tags-renewing-the-mind","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-renewal"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>People Share Positive Things That Happened Because Of The Pandemic - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/people-share-positive-things-that-happened-because-of-pande\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People Share Positive Things That Happened Because Of The Pandemic - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After Abraham Walker&rsquo;s older brother was shot and killed in a home invasion, he decided to move his family from New Orleans to Northern Virginia. 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