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The mask ordinance

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On Monday, I returned to The Marshfield Mail office feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day.

That morning, I picked up a copy of the newspaper and the first story that caught my eye was "Mask Up, Marshfield," written by my co-worker, Shelby Atkison. It was excellent coverage and I’m thankful to work with a great team of reporters who want to keep our community informed on big decisions like this.  

Later on that morning, I received a phone call from a concerned citizen regarding enforcement of the new mask mandate in Marshfield. She pointed out some weren't following the executive order and not wearing their masks while in a few public places. The citizen was very sweet as she talked to me about her concerns and said she understood that enforcement of the mandate would be a challenge, especially with a limited number of officers in the area, but she still wondered why nothing was being done about it.

This citizen wasn't the only person to speak about the issue.On Monday afternoon, I noticed an email from someone, stating the masks don’t work because you can get the virus anyways.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and I try to be open to them, as that's my job as a reporter — to listen. I'm a firm believer in Jesus Christ and I know he can deliver us from the coronavirus if he wanted to. That’s what I keep praying all the time — that God will heal our land and guide our doctors and scientists in developing a vaccine.

It has been a hard year on people and I fully agree with wanting to return to normal again. I get exhausted with the coronavirus talk and pray against news claiming we’re going to be stuck at home for several more months. The last thing our country needs is another shutdown.

Am I exhausted from wearing masks all the time? Yes and I’m praying we’re not stuck wearing them forever. In fact, I believe God will bring about good things in the coming year. We’ll see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I want to be able to go around and enjoy time with people without having a piece of cloth confined to my face. I want to celebrate a new chapter in my life without limiting the number of guests who attend that special day.

I don't want to live in fear about the future because I know I'm in God's loving hands.

Yet I want to be respectful of the guidelines. I keep a mask in my purse, just in case I’m traveling out and about with people. My Dad's health is getting better and the last thing I want is to hinder his progress by catching a cold (or any sickness for that matter).

Prior to our early Thanksgiving celebration, Mom and I prayed for protection over our loved ones gathered there (and we only had seven). We haven't stopped praying that when we gather together.

God's going to get us through this. Until then, we shouldn't stop praying for each other and we should pray for God's wisdom over our local city officials. This wasn’t an easy call for them to make regarding the mask ordinance, but let’s do our part and help take care of those around us.

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