School year ends, church services canceled, people staying inside

VERY TRYING TIMES

This is a very trying time we are “ALL” experiencing due to the Coronavirus quarantine. Sunday and “no church services”. The doors were closed to the church building. I never thought this would ever happen in my life time.

Now the schools have closed down for the academic year. Streets are deserted, traffic has very few vehicles, people are staying indoors as instructed to do. The busiest place to be is the one and only grocery store in Big Stone Gap. There is always a crowd, from 7 am till 10 pm. Then I think how much “harder” the curfews and limitations, shortages on supplies are in California, New York and Washington state and how these people are having to do to survive. Not to mention the number of people sick in their states with the virus. We just need to pray and ask God’s direction for our people and trust and believe God is our only source of help. Psalms 9:17 states the wicked and all the nations that forget God will be turned into hell. Our nation, in the last 20 years has not lived up to it. Prayer in school and athletic events was voted “No”. This has not been honored for a good while and other things neglected.  Is the United States a nation that has forgotten God?

LIONS CLUB MEETING CANCELED

President of the Appalachia Lions Club in Appalachia, Ben Hooper, announced the Lions Club would not have their meeting on March 26. This is due to the quarantining of people and no more than 10 people in a gathering.

SUNDAY WORSHIP

Gary and I listened to five different ministers on regular TV Sunday morning early, then four services locally on You Tube. There were all great messages but it didn’t seem like Sunday to me. All my adult life I have attended Sunday church services in a church building. We don’t know what we have until it is taken “away” from us.

BROKEN HIP

Anna Lee Smith had a fall and broke her hip. She underwent surgery at Pikeville, KY last week and she is doing well. Remember she broke a hip last year and this time of year and had surgeries on it. We all wish her a speedy recovery. Now she has two hip replacements.

NO REPORTED CASES

IN WISE COUNTY

As of this writing there is no reported cases of the coronavirus in Wise County! All we can do is be patient, thankful, obedient, stay in and pray to God for His help.

REMINDED OF POLIO SCARE

This time reminds me of the polio scare. It was in the late 1950s and people were struck down with the unknown enemy. We lived in Inman, a little coal mining camp. Polio was raging. Being a young child, we knew our parents were scared to death of the word “polio”. We did not have the news information at home that we have today.

A very young girl contracted polio in Inman and she was taken by ambulance and placed in an iron lung. There were others, one did not survive. Three young girls did survive and still live in our area today and have had very productive lives. Families prayed because in our small town everyone was family and churches were full of people praying. Now polio is cured and only a bad memory. Will there be a vaccine for this virus and it too will be a bad memory? Yes it is a bad time but quarantine is the only way we can protect ourselves for this dreaded virus.

CELEBRATE  BIRTHDAYS

March 25 a former Andover man celebrated his birthday in Alexandria.  Gerald Willaham, happy birthday.

Today, March 26, Randy Blair will have a big birthday celebration. Randy is always there to celebrate and visit old acquaintances on their birthdays so this is our change to say “happy birthday”. Sam Stidham in Arcadia, FL also was born on March 26. Sam was born in 1927 in Roda. Happy birthday Sam from all your friends in Virginia.

March 30 Virginia Meador has a birthday celebration. It is next Monday, a few days early so you have time to send her a birthday card. Happy birthday from all your friends. Carla Cornett shares the date also on Monday, March 30 for her birthday. Happy birthday Carla. You are a special lady.

The last day of March, on March 31, Loretta Caudill Shephard celebrates her birthday.  Happy birthday Loretta.