Almost as soon as I published my post 2 weeks ago, the government introduced slightly stricter measures here in Slovenia. For me it's only had a small impact, the biggest of which is that we're no longer supposed to have private gatherings. This has meant that my choir has been cancelled for the time being and the Ladies' Bible Study that had been happening in my flat has gone back to zoom. There are several other new rules but nothing too drastic unlike our neighbours to the north (Austria). Despite this I think it may just be a matter of time until some sort of lockdown is introduced if cases continue to rise in the same way.
The other dramatic event also happened almost 2 weeks ago now. My neighbour's house caught fire! No one was hurt and I understand the building is still habitable as most of the fire was in the attics. I live down quite a small road and I have often looked at this house from my window (it's almost directly opposite but just slightly down another street) and admired it. It was quite a surprise therefore to hear lots of sirens and to see the street filled with fire engines. I think I counted about 7 of them! I am very thankful that no one was hurt, it definitely could have been a lot worse. It was difficult though to watch it all unfold (I had little choice since it was right outside my window and the noise was really loud) and to know there was nothing I could do to help. It's good in these times to know that there is One who can help and can comfort those strangers in a way that we can't.
Other than these things, life has gone on pretty much as normal for me. Today I went with my language school to visit a cave in Slovenia. Slovenia has many caves, about 14,000, and lots of them are open to tourists. It always amazes me that God chose to even make difficult places, underground places, beautiful. This cave, Županova jama (The Mayor's Cave), was discovered in the 1920s and has 6 large chambers open to the public. It was good exercise, my friend described it as her leg day, but it was also beautiful to see God's creation 35m below the surface.
There's a concept I learnt about at university called Uniformitarianism. It's the theory that the earth and its geology was formed by long, slow processes and that what has happened in the past will continue to happen in the future. When I looked at these caves today I was reminded that despite everything that's going on around us, God continues the same. God is the ultimate example of uniformitarianism. He was good in the past, he is good in the present, and he will continue to be good in the future. The world may be chaotic and dramatic around me but I have hope because I know that God will continue to be in control of all things. His creation shows us that!