Lord, as I sit in our den in Rochetaillée, soaking up the scents of spring, I am in awe that Paul and I are here, safe and sound and ever so grateful. It could have been different.

Early Friday morning, after 13 planned days at sea on a repositioning cruise, we watched our ship dock in Barcelona. Then as the sun rose in pastel beauty, we and over 4000 other passengers disembarked and stepped onto Spanish soil. Just as we should have.

But we all knew we were stepping into a whole new world, and not the paradise that Jasmine and Aladdin sing about. A world with the coronavirus pandemic.

Indeed, being on that boat had felt like just about the safest place in the world.

For weeks before the cruise, we received information about who would and would not be allowed on the ship. Once onboard, we were reminded every hour to ‘WASH YOUR HANDS’. Hand sanitizer dispensers were at every door. And everyone on board seemed happy to obey.

The cruise was absolutely wonderful, an amazing gift as we celebrated 35 years of marriage and my 60 years.

But we were relieved to be allowed off the boat and to be heading home. We’d followed the news stories as the coronavirus became a pandemic and cases throughout the world continued to escalate; we’d heard of cruise ships refused passage and stuck at sea.

Hours after leaving the boat, we learned that our cruise line was cancelling all cruises that start in the US for at least a month. And hours after boarding our train that took us from Barcelona into France, all of Spain went under quarantine.

When a dear friend deposited us at our little house late Friday night, we literally felt that we had escaped by the skin of our teeth, no more deserving than other travelers, many of whom were stranded in some foreign airport or train station.

The France we came back to is vastly different than the one we left five months ago. Indeed the whole world looks different than when we got on the ship fourteen days earlier. Everything is closing down: schools, churches, stores, businesses. We are not allowed to gather in groups at all and strongly urged to stay home.

Sadly, the virus spread widely in France after an evangelical gathering in late February where people came from all around Europe, including some unknowingly infected from Italy. Already often misrepresented and mistrusted in France, now evangelicals are being blamed by some for bringing the coronavirus to France.

But our brave brothers and sisters in Christ are retaliating in love, praying for our fellow believers who are stricken with the virus, holding church virtually, asking You to give great wisdom and courage to our leaders and health care providers.

I’m so thankful You don’t change, Lord. That we were able to take the cruise and be safe was a great gift. But really, I know the only place that I am truly safe, that any of us are truly safe, is in Your loving, Sovereign hands. Wherever that is and in whatever condition that finds us. In You, we are safe. We’ve been sealed by Your Spirit and nothing, nothing, no virus or other disaster or tragedy, can snatch us from Your hands.

Who knows what the world will look like tomorrow?

What I do know is that You ask me to trust You today. To live this day as I live every day, with my eyes on You. This verse has become the one I pray to You every morning, Lord:

“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go for to You I lift up my soul.” (Psalm 143: 8)

May You show each of us, Lord, what we are to do for such a time as this.

ELIZABETH MUSSER writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Find more about Elizabeth’s novels at www.elizabethmusser.com and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and her blog.