I was out for a run up the “P” trail in Payson. I had the thought to contact a friend of mine in New York City. A quick text of, “How are you doing?” was what I sent.
I had no particular reason for sending that text but was just acting on a thought. The response that came back to me, however, let me know that soon my world was going to change.
“All of us were sent home from work,” she said. “Things are crazy. It feels like the world is going to end.”
I was completely taken aback by what she texted me, because I was in my own little world of “nothing ever happens here,” while running up my favorite mountain.
“We’re all good here,” I texted back. “No mayhem here. Your family is in my prayers.”
As I texted those words, I was totally sure that New York was on another planet, and we would never experience what they were experiencing.
Boom! The next day came, and it was announced that church was closed, followed shortly by school. A couple of days later, around 7:15 in the morning, I felt the Earth shutter below me. It wasn’t quite what was felt in other parts of the state, but I felt it. There was an earthquake!
I went to my phone to check if what I felt was real, and I was immediately met with a text from my friend.
“Are you OK over there?” she wrote. “I just heard there was an earthquake!”
“We’re fine,” I wrote back to her. “Thanks for asking. I hope you are well in all of this craziness.”
“We’re hanging in there,” she wrote. “We’re sending prayers your way.”
Little did I know how important sending text messages, good thoughts and prayers would be. Over the course of the next several days, and even as I type, physical touch and being in the presence of humans other than my immediate family would no longer be the norm.
With a quick spreading disease and being told to distance ourselves from others and public places, texts would be all I had that connected me to the outside world.
I was served by the messages that my friend sent, and by the ones I continue to get from so many others. I have been served by prayers both individually and collectively that have been given for my family and our state and nation.
During this time of uncertainty, we can still stay connected and serve others through the use of text messaging and social media. I have been served by your kind words. Thank you for staying connected with me. (Brown is a Serve Daily contributor.)
