When we look back on the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be plenty of things we will say society did right, things we did as a society that could have been done better, and measures that we could have taken ahead of time to prevent the number of confirmed cases and deaths.

And while many will focus questions on how our country was seemingly ill-prepared for such an outbreak, what we will look back on and what we hope historians will properly document is the resiliency of our country and our community.

For those who understand and appreciate history, tell the story of such challenging times of our country’s history not by focusing on the numbers, but rather the people. History is best told through the stories of individual people and families; journals and diaries.

This will be one of those moments — those historic moments — where as a country and as a community, we were challenged, we were tested, but we without a doubt overcame and thrived.

We can all remember precious times when we sat on the laps of our grandparents and listened to them tell the stories of when they were young, when they lived through some historic event. We are now in their shoes.

There will be a time when we will tell of how we rallied together as families, neighborhoods and communities to support one another when a virus — an invisible enemy — threatened our lives and our very way of living.

Right now, we are in the midst of the fight, but there will be a sunrise. There will be a time when we will look back on this pandemic from the other side. It cannot and will not last forever, not because it is incapable of doing so, but because we as a society, as a people will not let it last forever.

Today, we are living history and making history by the way we continue to live our lives and share our stories. We are making history in the way we are adjusting the way we do things to combat the spread of the virus.

In generations to come, they will look back on this pandemic and hopefully learn from lessons we endured, the changes we made and the strength we showed.

They will read our journals, they will read our diaries, and they will share our stories.

So, if we are to be tested in this way, if we are to be challenged, then let history show how we overcame, how we defeated this enemy and fear, and let history show how much stronger and better we were after.

Let that be the story we write.