Someone said this is history in the making. Something we will be talking about for years to come. A season of life we likely won’t soon forget. They said to write about it. Put feelings down on paper to share with others eventually.
So, here is my lame attempt to put thought to paper.
The days are weird.
People are over buying lots of things, especially toilet paper.
The NBA shut down.
The Masters Golf Tournament is postponed.
Local school sports are cancelling their seasons.
I may have some more time with my kids in the coming days—it will bring back all the homeschool feels. Hopefully no one gets hurt.
Someone sneezed at Chick-fil-a and Mack came home to take a shower because “she could have given the whole place Corona Virus!” {I was safely in my car waiting on the children. I am old; they are young and can handle it better than me. Don’t judge.}
Churches are cancelling live services and moving church online for a while.
I have gotten emails from the kids’ school, Academy Sports, Chick-fil-a, Kendra Scott, Publix, voice teacher, GNC and more about what they are doing in response to the COVID-19.
Josh no longer checks in on stocks. Ignorance is bliss? Maybe.
The kids have had quite a few questions about all of this. One question being, “What does toilet paper have to do with the virus?” I saw there was an article about the reasoning behind the hoarding of toilet paper; I didn’t read it. But I can assume it is the fear of not knowing when this will all end. Fear is a powerful emotion that can make you do some pretty crazy things. We told our kids that #1-God is in perfect control. He upholds the universe by the word of His power. He is not surprised by any of this. #2- We aren’t scared. We are taking some precautions and preparing by stocking up on a few food items…and we are washing our hands and staying out of crowded places as much as we can help it. #3-We have to trust God with the timing and with all the change of plans. Are we sad for the seniors who won’t play their last season of baseball? Absolutely. AND we trust God. Are we sad that we have to be stuck at home for a while and not enjoy our days out and about doing all of our regular things? Absolutely. AND we trust God.
I find myself wandering in the kitchen looking for yummy things to eat even when I am not hungry because I stress eat. I don’t want to do that. I will try not to do that. I will drink AHA instead.
I do find myself a bit tense while driving or even while cleaning the house. I have to remind myself to breathe. IIIIINNN. OOOUUUUTTT. IIIIIIINNN. OOOUUUUTTTT. Repeat. It helps.
And I will pray. Pray for the virus to not spread so quickly. Pray for those countries in much worse shape than we are in. Pray for doctors and nurses and elderly people. Pray for the anxious or scared or depressed that are overwhelmed by it all. Pray for those grieving their lost ones from the virus. And look for ways to be a help. If that’s staying my butt at home for a while, so be it. If that’s giving my neighbor some toilet paper, that’s what I will do. Taking extra time to comfort my kids? I will do that, too.
And I will spend time in God’s Word. In the midst of a ton of unknowns, it reminds me of truth that I can know and depend on and lean on and dwell on.
Just this morning I read Psalm 121 “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord Who made Heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.”
And I read in Hebrews 2 that God put everything in subjection to Jesus and, “He left nothing outside His control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him…..” In other words, even when it doesn’t appear to my human eyes that things are under control, I can be assured that God/Jesus is in perfect control. This is a chance to exercise my faith muscle. And, like Jesus, I can learn obedience through suffering. I can go through the hard time that I would rather not have and cast my cares and concerns over to a powerful God who is in perfect control. A God Who sympathizes with me in my suffering. A God whom I can approach with confidence and can receive mercy and find grace from to help me in my time of need.
That’s all I’ve got for today. And that’s all I need.
