Dear Coronavirus,

So many people have suffered on your account. Freedoms and privileges have been stolen due to your tyranny. 

Fear is knocking on our door. 

A few months ago, students complained about their homework. Now they wish they could return to the familiarity of the classroom before you arrived. Businessmen and women rushed to meet deadlines and longed for a break. Now they hope to keep their jobs and doors open. 

Fear is knocking on our door.

Memories that could have been created have diminished. Loved ones can no longer be together without the consequences you invoke. Families and friends are restricted from spreading happiness and love to those who don’t share their household. 

Fear is knocking on our door.

Time that could have been spent in joyful celebration is gone. Birthday parties and beach days aren’t options. While under our quarantined house arrest, we are separated and divided by you. 

Fear is knocking on our door.

Frightened and worried, people fill their shopping carts beyond capacity. Shelves are often empty, similar to the hearts of many – void of hope. For some, it is a struggle to find necessities. We check the news, a part of our daily routine, hoping our cities are beyond the peak of a disaster you’ve caused. 

Fear is knocking on our door.

Yet, dreaded coronavirus, you’ve provided us with something that we’ve failed to know apart from these circumstances. We seldom realize how much we need something until we’ve lost it. You’ve taken much, except the most precious things of all: Love. Hope. Joy. Faith.

Communities have come together as we lean upon one another during these times. When you came crashing into our world, everything we knew flipped upside down. Yet once we realized how much we needed each other, we decided not to give up without a fight. 

Supporting each other and being there for those around us has provided us a new hope, and has shown us how love overpowers grief. Your darkness has brought a shadow over us, but we will endeavor to find light. 

Fear is knocking on our door. How will we answer it?