CityView Magazine

14 | April 2020 SPECIAL PRICING 12 issues delivered to your door $24.00 Subscribe online at www.city viewnc.com To charge by phone call 910-423-6500 FREE DIGITAL ACCESS! CityView Fayetteville's Lifestyle Magazine www.CityViewNC.com | April 2020 The STeepleS of fayeTTeville THE FAITH ISSUE APRIL 2020 CITYVIEW saying, "Well, my phone has been acting up and apparently I just accidentally called 911 and a full-on SWAT team came to my house. So that's how my first day of working at home with all the kids has gone." I am still laughing at the fact that when the officers showed up to her front door and realized that there was nary a hostage situation to diffuse, they told my frazzled friend that all dispatch could hear was the muffled sound of children screaming in the background. Note to self: keep mobile device out of pocket at all times during Sunflower Academy's operating hours. Most poignantly, there's been the amazing sense of community as we have all rallied to help each other make it to the bright side of the tunnel. I wish I didn't have a word limit so I could report all of the examples I've encountered. Teachers taking to social media to post home learning resources, children hanging their artwork in front windows of their homes to li the spirits of passersby, restaurants innovatively creating porch delivery services in a double-effort to continue to employee their staff as well as feed their regulars, churches live-streaming sermons preached in empty sanctuaries. People like Jason Hairr, the owner of the Raeford Road barbecue restaurant and catering company "Southern Coals," who, upon receiving the order for his restaurant's dining room to close, took his food truck on the road to serve meals to children who otherwise count on their schools' cafeteria for breakfast and lunch. To date, he has served just under 1,000 plates of complimentary food at a time where he could be home with a calculator and ledger, fretting over his own livelihood. When I reached out to Jason to ask for his blessing to include his story here, he simply replied, "Yes ma'am. Just trying to do our part to bless those who need it." What I wonder most of all is, aer all of this is behind us and we are back to our normal frantic pace, will we remember the lessons we learned from an unlikely teacher, COVID-19, and continue to value the things that we've so suddenly learned that we take for granted? Will we profusely thank our healthcare heroes and our children's teachers? Savor family gatherings? Appreciate nature? Support local businesses? Make it a habit to check on our friends? Raise a hallelujah every time we hang a new roll of double-ply Cottonelle? It shouldn't take a global pandemic to see the beauty in linking hands with someone we love, going outside to admire the budding azaleas and taking a big, healthy breath of fresh air. I wish I didn't have a word limit so I could report all of the examples I've encountered. Teachers taking to social media to post home learning resources, children hanging their artwork in front windows of their homes to lift the spirits of passersby, restaurants innovatively creating porch delivery services in a double-effort to continue to employee their staff as well as feed their regulars, churches live-streaming sermons preached in empty sanctuaries. www.facebook.com/ groups/ fayettevillescityview JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP TO STAY IN THE KNOW

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