I remember before the pandemic…

• Attending a gathering of friends to play board games and people wanting to make sure everyone kept washing their hands
• Having my employer hand out hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes to everyone
• Thinking that all this was silly as we’ve heard about these viruses before that start overseas and have a few cases in the US and then you don’t hear about them any more
• Ordering toilet paper because of a great deal in February – little did I know how great this would be

I remember at the start of the pandemic…

• Working quickly on Friday, March 13, 2020, to get my work computer setup with VPN access and get needed cables to hook it to my monitor at home, so I could work from home
• Nearly having a panic attack as emails and Facebook notices came in from all over about all types of theatre and other activities being cancelled – I could barely keep up
• Checking every few minutes to see if a show I saw on Thursday, March 12, 2020 was cancelled or not – it wasn’t – and that was the last live theatre performance I have seen since
• Thinking along with everyone that this would last a few weeks while we got it under control and then we’d start things back up
• Leaving water in my glass at work, thinking I’d be back soon enough, and realizing that it would be awhile and reaching out to a coworker who was still working in the office to empty it out and dry it
• Starting to attend church virtually via our Facebook live stream as our pastor and her husband quickly adapted to streaming from their house
• Going to a pastor’s 20th anniversary of their ordination celebration – after checking to make sure it was still going on. This was held on Saturday, March 14, 2020 – that was the last big event that I attended
• Getting a message from my personal trainer that we had to adjust to virtual sessions – and how I made some make-shift weights at home to have something to work out with
• Having a few virtual happy hours on Fridays with some coworkers. They were great at first, but quickly fizzled out as people adapted and adjusted to the new pandemic life
• Starting to have weekly video chats with my sister and parents once a week to help them and me through the pandemic – we continue this still

I remember during the pandemic…

• Switching to only grocery shopping every three weeks and being sure to plan ahead, this eventually moved to every two weeks
• Checking my temperature almost every night before bed – just to be safe – I did this for months, partly out of safety, partly out of a new routine I got into. I don’t do this any more
• Starting to walk outside in the evenings and on weekends – not really for exercise (although that part is nice) but because I needed to get out of my house
• Adjusting to working from home and getting used to having virtual meetings and getting my work done. I adjusted to this a lot quicker than I expected.
• Getting lots of projects done around the house like cleaning up empty cardboard boxes from my basement, adding a little bit of flooring to a small nook in my basement, getting a new bookcase (and filling it with books), getting other storage items for my basement and doing some good organizing
• Being extremely careful getting my mail each day. I’d have one hand that was my “clean” hand that only touched doorknobs, etc. and then my “contaminated” hand that touched my mailbox and mail. Once inside, I’d open the envelopes, dump the contents out without touching the contents, and then washing my hands before looking at the mail.
• Doing something similar with packages that were delivered, open the box and empty it onto a clean surface without touching the contents until I could wash my hands after touching the box.
• Having 3 COVID tests – 2 because I had mild symptoms and 1 because I had a possible exposure – luckily all were negative
• Working 2 elections during and 1 election right before
• Vacuuming my breezeway because I hadn’t done it in many years and how that turned into a complete remodel of my breezeway (I still love it!)
• Attending church in the warm summer months outdoors and socially distanced
• Deciding I wanted to crochet and I should make an afghan for my pastor, and making it out of leftover yarn I had around the house so I could minimize my shopping
• Doing a bunch of other small projects around the house that I meant to for a while
• Joining two committees at Wharton Center – we’ve had many meetings for them, but none in person yet for me
• Making a video to promote Wharton’s new season (which has been since cancelled or rescheduled) and wearing a shirt, tie, and vest up top and sweat pants below – they weren’t in the video!
• Thinking I’d be able to get a bit ahead on my TiVo shows, never realizing how much progress I could make in a year when I don’t have much else going on
• Celebrating Easter by myself for the first time in my life and making a ham and a variety of sides for my meal
• Celebrating my birthday by having all my favorite foods via pick up at different places and eating them at home
• Black Lives Matter and related protests against the continued unjust murder of Black people, and these spreading across the nation and world
• Our church having monthly Racial Justice demonstrations to show that we will not stand for racial injustice, and making sure that we stayed safe from the pandemic while we addressed the other pandemic of white supremacy in our country
• Our church having a book study about how the ELCA is the whitest denomination
• Having a six week class through our Synod on Social Justice

I remember now, a year later…

• How most people took this seriously and did what was needed to protect themselves and others
• How many people are starting to think things should or already have returned to normal, when they haven’t
• How at the start we talked about flattening the curve and once we did that and people started being more lax
• We saw information from the pandemic 100 years ago and we warned that if we didn’t really focus we’ve have another much larger spike in the coming months
• And we did

I remember people…

• Pastor Ellen for quickly adapting worship to an online world or an outdoor world and taking the utmost care for the congregation
• My trainer for quickly adapting to a virtual training style
• Caring for each other and reaching out to make sure they were OK
• Not being able to find yeast in their store, but I could, so I mailed them some
• Teachers quickly adapting to a whole new education style and continuing to work hard for their students
• Surprising me with a large gift box of all kinds of goodies for my birthday (delivered safely)
• Sharing with excitement when they got the vaccine and how quickly the numbers of people who got it grew

I hope that the world…

• Will not get back to normal, when normal implies the way things were
• Will learn from this that we are a global society
• Will learn that while we need to look out for ourselves, we also need to look out for those less fortunate around the world
• Will learn that we can accomplish more for the greater good of more if we work together
• Will learn that actions in one area of the world impact the whole world
• Will quickly get access to the vaccines and have them available for all people

I hope that our country…

• Will not get back to normal, when normal implies the way things were
• Finally gets the message that white supremacy is wrong, that Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color have suffered long enough and action must be taken
• Realizes that we have so many people in need in our country (disproportionately Black) and that programs started to help people during the pandemic continue
• Learns that students go without food when school isn’t in session and will implement programs to ensure they are fed throughout the year – every year
• Learns that if you want people to spend money to help the economy grow, give the money directly to the people (tax credits, higher wages, etc.) and they will spend it – giving it to the rich people and corporations at the top will not cause it to trickle down – it hasn’t for over 40 years – it won’t start now
• Takes a hard and serious look at our history of racial injustice and explore how reparations can be a part of the healing and growth process
• Remembers who the essential workers really are and ensure that they get paid and have benefits to reflect that
• Learns that healthcare is essential for people and that it needs to be provided to everyone and not have it depend on having a job or not or the ability to pay for it or not
• Continues to work hard to ensure all people have access to and are strongly encouraged to get the vaccine

I hope that I…

• Will not get back to normal, when normal implies the way things were
• Will remember what I’ve learned from the racial and social justice learning opportunities I had during the pandemic and grow from there
• Will continue to take action to ensure social justice and equity for all
• Be able to adjust back to a busier life with more plays and concerts and other activities
• Will encounter people who are understanding of the fact that while many people have struggled very hard during the pandemic and are yearning for in-person social gatherings and physical touch, there are others of us, like me, who can get overwhelmed and drained by these experiences and who have adapted to not having that type of contact or experience, and at times even had too much virtual social interaction. Going back to being around large groups of people may be overwhelming.
• Remember the care and compassion shown by so many people

This past Sunday, December 28, the 1st Sunday in Christmas, I was asked to give a reflection during the service (in place of a sermon/message/etc.) at my parent’s church.  Here is what I shared:

Putting the “Extra” in Extraordinary

Today we celebrate the 1st Sunday of Christmas, and the 4th day of Christmas. In a world that is already putting away the Christmas decorations, taking down their trees, and stores are putting away images of Santa and replacing them with red and pink hearts for Valentine’s day, we come together to continue to celebrate Christmas, a season in the church year that lasts just 12 days, but lasts forever in our hearts.

Let’s stop and reflect on some of the people and images in the Christmas story and season.

First we find Mary, a simple girl, nothing special about her, no long lineage of royalty. No celebrity status. No real mention of her prior to the Christmas story. Just an everyday ordinary girl.

We then have her fiancé Joseph. Again, nothing really special about him, he is of the lineage of David, then again, so are many other people. No super skills, not a major leader in his community,  just an ordinary everyday tradesman.

When they get to Bethlehem, they have no choice but to take whatever lodging they can find, and end up staying in a simple barn currently in use to house animals. Nothing special about the barn, one of many around the area, quite ordinary.

When Jesus is born, he is wrapped in simple plain bands of cloth, no onesies with cute little sayings, no royal robes, just plain ordinary wrappings, and being laid on some hay in a feeding trough – no special bed, no cute bedding set, just a plain ordinary manger.

Then enter the shepherds. Working hard at night keeping their ordinary sheep in line and safe. Not a glamorous job, and not a highly respected one at the time. These weren’t shepherds minding the sheep of a king, just your everyday hard working ordinary shepherds. Nothing special about them either.

Skip ahead a little in the story and we get to the wise men. While they seem like they would be special because they come a long distance and bring expensive gifts, however, they aren’t mentioned by name, we don’t really know how many of them there was. Just people who watched the stars, observed a special star and thought they better check it out, so they traveled to where the star lead them and found and worshiped Jesus. What they did may be special, but the wise men themselves appear to be quite ordinary.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the symbols of Christmas around us today.

We have the poinsettias. Early on the Aztecs would use the sap of the poinsettia for medicinal purposes and its bracts to make red dye. It was a plant used as so many other plants of the time were used, for ordinary purposes.

We have a wreath made out of branches cut off from a tree, that are slowly dying. When we find branches lying in our yard, we’ll often rake them up and toss them away.  In the wreath we have 5 candles. Just ordinary candles that we could use to light our house when the power goes out. Each part of our Advent wreath is quite ordinary.

Next, we have this large tree. A tree cut down and put in water to keep it alive for at least awhile. Nothing special about this tree either, just a tree that was growing outside looking like many other trees. On the tree we put ornaments made out of everyday material, some of these ornaments have symbols and messages on them, but nothing really special about how they are made. We also have lights on the tree, colored yes, but still simple light bulbs similar to ones you use to light your home.  Overall nothing really special about a Christmas tree when you look at all the parts that make it up, just everyday ordinary items.

So, from what we’ve looked at so far, nothing that makes up Christmas is special, everything by itself is quite ordinary. But yet we celebrate it as one of the two main celebrations of the Christian faith.  That is because we have one more part of the story that we haven’t mentioned yet.

The word, the light, God, Jesus.  All the same, all in one, all that make Christmas special. God through Jesus takes all of the ordinary people and objects and makes them extraordinary. God is the “extra” in the story that transforms the everyday people and things into something that we remember and celebrate through the ages.

It’s not just at Christmas that God is the “extra” making ordinary things extraordinary.  It is everyday. Through the ages, including today, God takes the ordinary and turns it into the extraordinary. Think about this church, you collect items for Nifty Thrifty, common, everyday ordinary items.  However, God takes these items and makes them extraordinary because they provide help and hope to those in need, letting them know that even though things might be tough for them, people care for them and want to help them. You had your Christmas Bazaar, selling ordinary everyday items, and God changed those items into money that will be used to do extraordinary things.

Michigan State University recently launched a large capital campaign that they call “Empower the Extraordinary”, but God invites us to a better campaign, and calls us to “be” the extraordinary. We provide ourselves, just as we are, very ordinary, and God provides the “extra” and we become extraordinary, so that we can share the love of Christ through our actions to the whole world.

So, remember when you are wondering when something extraordinary is going to happen, you might just be that very extraordinary you or someone else is looking for. All you have to do is be yourself, and invite the word, the light, God, Jesus – into you, to be transformed into the extraordinary.

Part of us being extraordinary through Christ is coming together as one common church across the nation, so I bring you this Christmas message from the presiding bishop of the ELCA:

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I recall this image from my home congregation: A banner depicting Mary and Jesus in the manger and the backlit silhouette of the cross cast over this scene. It was jarring. The cross on Christmas? I didn’t like it.
Christmas can carry so much emotional freight. We must be merry and filled with good cheer. We are driven to get everything perfect by the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve. We are filled with wistful longing. But what are we longing for?

We long for peace, love and a place to belong. We want to know that someone cares. We want the assurance that all of this means something. And, we try to bring that all about in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The hope of Christmas was fulfilled on Good Friday. The cross is part of
Christmas. “Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you” (What Child Is This?). The cross is the Christmas gift, where all of our Christmas glorias are realized in Jesus’ glorification on the cross.

We don’t have to get everything completely right. We can’t. That’s God’s work and it has been done. So, good Christian friends, rejoice!

Peace,
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

So as we continue through the rest of the 12 days of Christmas, remember that we aren’t perfect, we won’t get everything right, but all that is part of being ordinary, Christ puts the “Extra” into us to transform us into the extraordinary, now and forever.

Amen.

Over the last 3 days (Sunday evening, all day Monday, and this morning) I was privileged to attend as one of the two voting members (Thanks Marla for being such a wonderful partner!) from Faith Lutheran Church for the North/West Lower Michigan Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America annual assembly. While at times it was very warm (Ok – I think someone even compared it to the temperature of Hell) in the rooms and things didn’t always happen according to plan, it was an AMAZING experience.

So much happened in those short hours – heard stories of how God is alive and working through the ELCA, our synod, our congregations, and our people, heard debate on a variety of resolutions from gun control to mental health to environmental concerns with fossil fuels, some passed and some didn’t, but all was thoughtful and respectful debate. We elected people to the Synod Council and various committees. I learned more about changes Portico is making to the healthcare plans the ELCA offers to Pastors and Lay staff because of Healthcare Reform. We had Bible studies and sang songs as we gathered after each break. There were various speakers from around our state and the world, including a Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia. I met a lot of people I never knew before and ran into some old friends.

The most important elections we held were to select a new Bishop for our synod for the next 6 years. It is a long process – 5 ballots over 3 days, speeches, and Q/A times – but it is a slow deliberate process to allow everyone to make the choice that is needed. In the end the votes were very close, but a bishop was elected. (and no, we don’t use smoke to indicate success or failure with each ballot 🙂 ) When the results were announced – everyone was supportive and loving to the Bishop-elect – even though you know almost 1/2 the room didn’t vote for him – but that is in the past – and we have our leader who we will support.

We also had 2 full worship services with Holy Communion – such a powerful experience having that many Christians (and of course they are Lutherans!) together in one room all singing the praises of our Lord and Savior. At the close of the closing worship service, we the congregation gave a blessing to the outgoing Bishop which was an extremely moving experience.

Overall it was so awesome to feel God’s Love so abundantly everywhere you went, hear of all the wonderful work we are doing around the world in the name of Jesus, and feel the every-living presence of the Holy Spirit in the decisions we made. This experience has renewed my faith in God and in the work of the ELCA. Now to see if I can make it happen to go to the church-wide assembly in August…

For those of you who don’t know – I recently auditioned to be on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? I posted the main part of the story in three parts prior to this – Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 This is the story of the following weeks after my audition and trip home.

Week 1

The first week after the audition I just kept not believing how amazing of an adventure I had – but the shirt laying on my couch kept reminding me it really did happen and how lucky I am.  I didn’t think much about getting my postcard yet since it was so soon after the audition and they said it would be 1-3 weeks before I got it.

Week 2

The second week after my audition, Millionaire was on another road trip to do more road auditions so I was searching Twitter to see what was happening.  When I was searching I saw that some other people who were at the Chicago auditions had received their postcards.  I texted Chad to see if he got his postcard (I was stuck at work) and he hadn’t checked his mail yet, but a little while later he texted me back to let me know he got his postcard and is in the contestant pool!  I was so excited for him and then anxious about getting home and checking my mail to see what my postcard said.

Well, after getting all worked up and nervous at work and on the way home, I pull up to my mailbox, pause for a moment, and then open it.  I look through all the mail – I look again – I check outside on the ground – nope – no postcard.  Oh well, must just be delayed a day.  I get all worked up the next day again, get to my mailbox, and again – no postcard.  I keep checking day after day, and still no postcard.  I start wondering why I haven’t gotten one yet, did it get lost, did they have my address wrong, not really sure what was going on.  I just kept checking each day – nothing else much I can do – since it is still within three weeks.

Week 3

The anxiety and anxiousness about checking my mail has now worn off and I’m back to my regular feeling of checking mail with a little hope each day I’ll get my postcard.  Everyday it still wasn’t there. Friday of week 3 (August 5) is the 3 week mark, so I figure if I don’t get it by the following Monday I’ll see about checking with Millionaire to see what they can tell me. Friday and Saturday I still don’t have a postcard.

Week 4

Monday comes and I still don’t have a postcard.  So that evening I Tweet to @MillionaireTV to see if they can tell me anything.  I don’t hear anything back Monday evening or Tuesday during the day.  Again, I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t think much of it.  Tuesday I went to a movie and when I get out I see I have a text message from Chad asking if I’ve called the Millionaire phone number.  I text him back to find out what phone number he was talking about because I didn’t know of one.  While I was waiting for an answer from him I was getting caught up on reading my Twitter timeline and see that @MillionaireTV posted a phone number to call if it’s been three weeks and you haven’t received a postcard.  I call right away around 8:30 p.m. with no answer.  I wasn’t expecting one and didn’t leave a message figuring I’ll just call back the next day.

Wednesday, August 10, morning comes around and figure I’ll call around 10 to make sure they would be in.  Ten o’clock comes around and I go outside at work (terrible, if any cell reception inside the building) and call.  Again there is no answer, so this time I leave a message explaining why I was calling and giving them my work and cell numbers to call back.  Around 3:45 p.m. or so my phone at work rings and I realize by the phone number that it’s Millionaire calling back.  With a bit of nervousness and anxiousness I answer the phone and am told that she is returning my message from earlier. Then the words I didn’t want to hear come through.  I didn’t make the contestant pool.  My heart sinks, I send Chad the dreaded :(, and tell a few of my coworkers. So, right now there is no chance of me being on Millionaire.  Guess something in my interview they didn’t like.  There are a few spots that I’m sure I could have done better on, but it’s all a guessing game as to what they are looking for and why they didn’t pick me.

So that’s the end of the story of my WWTBAM Journey … or is it??????

For those of you who don’t know – I recently auditioned to be on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? and this is my story of that adventure in my life.  This is the third part. (Part 1 and Part 2) I was going to do it all as one post, but it got quite long!

Promotions

The next person I talked to (and Chad did as well) was working with people doing some videos for promotional use for the show.  She had us sign another release form and then we did another interview asking us again about what we would do with the money, why we auditioned, and recording lines like “Who wants to be a millionaire? I do!”, etc.  We were asked to wait a bit more to record some more shots on the balcony overlooking the racetrack, so we gladly wait.  We take this time to update Facebook and Twitter some more and I email people at work, etc.  They told us a few times that this wasn’t part of the audition process at all and we could leave if we wanted to, but we had nothing better to do and thought it looks good for us if we are so excited about the show we will do anything for them, so we stay (along with about 5-6 others who were also helping with the promotion videos).  After a bit more waiting we do a few more promo shots on the balcony and then we head out.

The Trip Home

We get to the car and get ready for the trip home back to Michigan.  The first stop we did was at Subway for some food since we were starving by that point since we didn’t have much breakfast and it was getting close to 11 or 12. We had a nice relaxed lunch and then head home to Michigan.

The trip back was a bit slower with heavier traffic in Chicago, but once we got out of the traffic it was smooth sailing.  We passed the time with more Trivial Pursuit cards, general chat, and annoying Chad with my unique sense of humor!  We stop at the same Speedway in limbo land to fill up with gas again and get some drinks for us.

Mini Game Show Fan Club Meeting

Instead of taking Chad directly home, we stopped in Haslett to visit with Matt Ottinger and talk about game shows and look at his collection of home games, etc.  We take a trip to Panera and have dinner and visit and laugh some more. It is great being with other people who love game shows as much as I do and Matt has such a wealth of knowledge about them.

The Final Leg

After departing Matt’s, I took Chad to his house back in the Flint area, promising to see him Monday (for his Game Shows in the Park series he does), and I head home.  I get home around 10:30 p.m. and get my car unpacked and settle back into my “normal” life.  I sit back and marvel at all that has happened in the last 31 hours hardly believing it is real (still hard to believe).  I am thankful for the magnet and shirt as they prove that it really happened.

What’s Next?

For those who don’t know the whole process of getting onto a game show are probably wondering what happens next.  The producers of the show will go back and review the people who got interviewed, watching the interviews again from the video they took and then decide who they think will be ideal contestants for a televised game show.  Then they will mail out postcards to everyone who got interviewed, which Chad calls the Happy Face or Sad Face postcard.  The postcard will let us know if we are in the contestant pool or not.  If we get into the contestant pool, it is then another waiting game.  Just because we are in the pool doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily be on the show, they’ll pick people from the pool as they need for the taping dates.  We’d then hope to receive a call from the show to schedule a tape date to be on the show. Stay tuned to my Facebook and Twitter to follow any updates about the postcard and any potential appearance on the show.

Many Thanks

Again, this was a truly amazing 31 hours in my life. One experience I will remember forever and wanted to document it so I really couldn’t forget it (thus the length of my story!).  This is by far one of the best times in my life and I have so many thanks to share, so I give a huge Thank You to…

• Chad Mosher for being a wonderful friend, road trip buddy, car companion, game show audition mentor, etc.  You can find out more about Chad at his website http://www.chadmosher.com/, follow him on Twitter @ChadMosher, or on Facebook. (He also posted some thoughts of the day there.)  And here is a pic of Chad and I waiting in line (front of the line that is!).
• Everyone at work and MESSA themselves for the support they gave me leading up to the trip and for making it easy to get time away from work so I could have this adventure.
• Matt Ottinger for being a great friend and providing some more game show entertainment to end our trip.
• Everyone at the audition from Who Wants to be a Millionaire for making it such a great experience – even if I had not passed the test, it would have been a great day because of their attitude.  Follow them on Twitter at @MillionaireTV, like them on Facebook, or visit their website for audition information if you want a chance as well!
• All my friends and family on Facebook and in person for their support and excitement for me as I go through this.
• God for making this all possible – He has brought so many blessings into my life and to have so many of them clustered into 31 hours was simply amazing!

If you have any questions about this whole process, just let me know and I can provide more info (as if what I already posted wasn’t enough!)