A Senior's Perspective on the Pandemic

Being 70, I think I finally qualify as a "Senior". Few of us older people are saying much about this pandemic, but I feel a need to put my perspective "out there". We all know what a difficult time we live in. Most seniors understand that younger people need to work to support their families and that we all need goods and essential services to continue to be provided. 

We seniors have seen other countries shut down to get the covid 19 virus into control, while our country refuses such measures, prefering to champion  "freedom" instead. We have seen young people exerting their "freedom" as they revel in their "no mask" parties. We see people protesting against their government leaders restricting their lives in any way, while criticizing these same leaders for "not taking action" during this pandemic. Now, in sadness, we see Americans bemoaning the "meanness" and "hard heartedness" of their government leaders in discouraging holiday gatherings. 

Cycle Breaker

We left the Oakland Temple, two converts filled with optimism and determination to make a celestial family. A few years later, I was in tears. Where was the loving, unified couple we had hoped to be?  Our two fussy children hardly made us a happy family. What were we doing wrong?

As I saw us repeating old family traditions, I felt trapped. Neither of us had any idea  how to do better. It was then that we began to realize that we couldn’t change by ourselves. No matter how hard we tried, we would simply go in circles and never be free from the mistakes of the past.

We began to see that the power to change came through the atonement. This thought brought us comfort and hope, but we still didn’t know what to do. I know I prayed for my husband and children to change, everyone but myself, and suspect that my husband had similar prayers. I asked for help and nothing happened. I was discouraged.