In trying to help the reader relate to a pandemic, the author says "We've all seen the movies where a pandemic threatens our collective way of life. Eventually, a cure is discovered and the people are saved from an ominous threat." The book was written in 2014. At that time, pandemics only happened in the movies or history books. Now we are living in one...except the cure has yet to be discovered. If anyone would have told you even two months ago what our lives would be like today, would you have believed them? I wouldn't have.
It's strange to realize that people around the world are all experiencing the same thing. We sponsor 2 children through Compassion. One is in Bolivia and one in Indonesia. Both of their centers are closed due to the virus. Everyone is being impacted.
Do you worry if you are doing enough to protect your family? Staying distant enough? Cleaning well enough? Do you worry about you and your loved ones getting sick? Do you get paranoid being out in public when the need arises....imagining germs on every surface and infection lurking in everyone you see? Do you look to the future and wonder how this is ever going to resolve itself? Me Too. I feel just the least bit uneasy, and my first thought is...uh-oh...here it comes. I heard my son cough the other day and must have looked at him strangely because his response was "Don't worry Mom, I just swallowed water wrong." It's like I'm just waiting for the inevitable.
I've posted a lot about our family having fun and making the best of our time at home. But that worry is always laying just beneath the surface. I daily have to take my worries and give them to God. I try to re-focus my thoughts on what I have control over TODAY.
I heard Joby Martin say "Worry does not solve tomorrow's problems, it just sucks all of the joy out of today". How true that is. It doesn't mean not to prepare. It means that when I keep replaying all the "what-if" scenarios in my head, I'm wasting my day worrying about things that probably won't even happen. And if they do, well, it's out of my control. I may as well live in the moment and make whatever time I have with my loved ones count! I want to keep my joy and help spread it to others. I can't do that when I worry, and neither can you.
So for what it's worth, I just wanted to take the time to say "We're in this together". These are scary times, but our fear does not have to have the final word. Let's encourage one another and look for the good. There is hope. As we get ready to celebrate Easter this Sunday, remember that the One who overcame death is still very much alive. He loves us. He sees us. He is with us. And He can be trusted with our future.
This a great devo that helped me this week. If anxiety is getting a hold on you, take the 15 min to watch. I pray your worry will be replaced with peace.
