A COVID Survival Guide

The COVID Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic with the virus known as COVID-19.  Like a dystopian novel, everything changed as our society encountered widespread panic in which store shelves were wiped clean and toilet paper became a scarcity.  There was fear of a virus that no one really knew anything about and hit our vulnerable citizens with a vengeance.  There were widespread travel bans and various state and local mandates.  Hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living centers shut out the public.  Surgeries and procedures were canceled, and people had limited access to medical care unless they were in a critical situation.  People were told to stay home as schools and churches closed and businesses were ordered to cease operations.  Everyone home schooled and attended church at home.  People did not see each other except on Zoom, and when they could get out, they peered at each other behind face masks. Everyone started talking about things like "fake news" and "plandemic", and we began to question what was real and what to believe.   Extreme partisan divides and polarization on political idealization widened the gap as people raged from their position of whether to mask, get vaccinated, or even step outside of their homes.  As the political and societal tensions elevated, many of us asked ourselves if the world had gone mad! 

COVID Hits Home

Seven months after the pandemic started, COVID hit home for our family when my husband was tested positive.  Because he tends to be a very stubborn hard-working man, my husband was determined to not let a positive diagnosis hold him back; however, the virus flattened him in the wake of his compromised respiratory condition. The downward spiral of symptoms was rather alarming as we spent our 19th anniversary with my making arrangements for him to be transferred out of a rural hospital.  I used my experience as a social worker to advocate for my husband and request that medical professionals from the VA authorize the transfer to a facility that would be able to offer the skilled care necessary to combat this illness.  It was an extremely stressful and upsetting time, yet God worked through the entire ordeal.  Thankfully, he did receive approval for the transfer to a COVID unit that had a medical team with the knowledge and compassion to offer the necessary treatments and care.  The hospital did not allow visitors on the COVID unit, so our family had nightly Facetime meetings with him in which the kids read scripture and recited prayers.  The hospital staff cautioned my husband about overexerting his limited lung capacity, therefore, the kids and I did most of the talking during our nightly Facetime gatherings.  Thankfully, once he made it through the worst of the ordeal, his recovery came back quickly.  

Our extended family came together as my husband and two of his sisters were hospitalized with COVID over the fall and winter.  His middle sister requiring sedation as her infectious control physician felt it would be best for her to be in a medically induced coma for her lungs to heal. Hardships have a way of leveling the playing field and humbling us.  Facetime and family Zoom conferences were precious treasures for our family as we came to the realization how little control we have over our own destinies.  Times like these put things into perspective by bringing awareness to how small we really are and how we reduce God with our finite understanding.   These hardships are the groundwork for survival in a COVID world.

SURVIVING A COVID WORLD

No matter what philosophy, political platform, or perspective we carry, no one can deny that the COVID pandemic of 2020 has been an unforgettable world event.  Many of us have questioned if we were facing Armageddon as news reports become more troubling and surreal.  Truthfully, throughout history various cultures have encountered famine, sickness, persecution, death, and unimaginable horrific circumstances at one time or the other.  I think as American's we forget that the world does not revolve around us, and there is a bigger picture than what we can see.  I am not minimizing the hardships and trauma that many have faced during this pandemic.  The events of the past year have opened our eyes to circumstances beyond our comfortable self-absorbed existence.    It has been a very troubling year; however, until we make a conscious effort to shut off our television sets and social media for reprieve, we will be easily swept up in a tidal wave of gloom and despair.  The first step of survival is stepping back and evaluating both the world events and our attitudes from an outsider's perspective to identify wisdom and reality.  Survival starts in our minds and the attitudes of our hearts!

RENEWAL OF CHOICE

Last September, I posted an article on the "Culture of Change in a COVID World."  I wrote these words to describe my commitment to renew my mind and heart daily by refusing to allow societal negativity to affect my spirit.  This is what I wrote:

"As we approach the last four months of a crummy year, I have been taking a pause to re-evaluate multiple aspects of my life and implement some significant changes.  I have taken a critical look at the overall purpose and mission of our family as well as my personal achievements.  I am striving to reduce and/or eliminate ANYTHING that is unproductive or irrelevant to this mission which includes what I am focusing on, thinking about, viewing, reading, listening to, eating, putting in my body, and saying.  I am committed to taking at least an hour a day to reprocess my focus and replace that was previously negative and not beneficial with what is helpful, useful, healthy, and most of all honors God.  I am committed to doing a better job at taking care of myself so that I can best serve my husband and family.  I am committed to giving myself some grace to recognize I am a human residing in an ugly fallen world and forgive myself as well as others.  Although I choose to take moments to track news and events, I am committed to shutting it down regularly and keeping it in its place so that it does not create fear, anxiety, dissension, or hopelessness for me and/or my relationships.  Finally, I am committed to laugh more, smile more, and NOT allow these things to steal my joy.  I hope and pray we can all take these ugly times to turn to God Who can recreate it into something beautiful."

In the wake of a renewal in my perspective, I have come to the realization we cannot stop COVID or the global response to this pandemic.  We cannot change the legislative response to the pandemic or the views of our fellow Americans.   We cannot change our circumstances; however, we can turn to the One Who Never Changes and BE THE CHANGE by His transforming power.  I am uncertain what tomorrow will bring, but today I embrace each day with determination, grit, and joy because He is enough.

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JOYFUL TREASURES:  Count it All Joy

"Count it all joy when you face trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  --James 1:2

Life's winter season always come to an end with the unfolding of Spring.  Our suffering may be for a moment; however, the "Blessed Controller of All Things" will somehow meet us in our place of hardship to carry us through the valley.  Someday, we will receive our reward for these hardships.  Victory comes not in what we have done to overcome our sorrows; but what our Creator has done for us. 

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Our 2021 Family Newsletter

Dear Friends and Family,

 Given our current world events, it seemed fitting to write a letter of encouragement. Thanksgiving last year, we received the call that any child dreads (no matter the age), and our holidays were consumed in calls and visits to the hospital as well as planning a funeral on New Year’s Eve.   Providence often leads to perfect timing, and we thank the Lord for being spared the heartache of having to endure the circumstances ending 2019 as they would be today in the wake of our 2020 pandemic.

The year 2020 has been an unprecedented time of unfolding a global health crisis, political division, and chaos, to top off a weighty year of grief for some of our friends and family who either received the news that their cancer is back or experienced the unexpected departures of children, spouses, parents, grandparents, relatives, and friends.  Unsettling circumstances such as unemployment, financial hardship, sickness, loneliness, isolation, and quarantines have touched just about every household.  Hardships have a way of leveling the playing field and humbling us, which was certainly true for our family as Mel spent 2 weeks hospitalized with COVID last October.  With Mel being in isolation, nightly Facetime meetings and family zoom conferences became precious treasures that brought us all together, and we came to the realization of how little control we have over our own destinies.  Times like these put things in perspective by bringing awareness to how small we really are and how we reduce God with our narrow lens. It also has given us more appreciation for what we previously took for granted.

 No matter how bleak things may appear, we must remember that we also have reasons to be encouraged, thankful, and have hope.  Here are a few thoughts to ponder as we end a year many would likely soon forget.  God is still in control, and He often does His greatest work through perilous situations.  Answers to prayer frequently unfold in unexpected ways, and “Thy will be done” is by far the most difficult to come to terms with, but when we succumb to His will we are right where we need to be.  We must remember that everyone is facing some sort of battle and give each other grace.  It takes insurmountable courage to let go, forgive, and to love in hard ways.  If we live each day as if Jesus is coming back tomorrow, we can by the grace of God purge trivial and unnecessary aspects of our lives to live and love more freely.  When we love hard and love big, those small steps can make a difference..   Terms like “the new normal”, “pivoting”, and “we are all in this together” may seem overdone, but we have the opportunity to find new and creative ways to demonstrate our care for each other and be a blessing. We are looking for opportunities to bless others in 2021, and we pray that you will be encouraged and find hope in the New Year. 

A Winter Solstice Lullaby

 Oh Bethlehem… out of you will come One who will be Ruler…  whose origins are of old… from ancient times (Micah 5:2)

For the dusky night watches in the winter sky, they prevail for the world to search a mighty Hero

His summons was a whisper of an entrance— like Elijah escaping the scream of the gale to find His Maker in the faintest of breaths—a King quietly awakens the womb lowly, unassuming

The hands that put the stars in place and laid the foundations of the earth clasped in the arms of a mere whisp of a girl who nestles gently with her King son, singing Him a sweet winter solstice lullaby

No one dreamed their conquering Ruler would unveil as “the word became flesh”, the manger Child, fragile  holy Redeemer— a paradox for grace and peace 

Heralded by angels, shepherds, and sages of old… though completely missed by rulers and kings… the King of Kings came, to be smitten and crushed, and He died to redeem

Oh winter solstice, your stars and planets tell the story of our conquering King, and our weary hearts bow down in yearning anticipation for His return like a thief to heal our harms and unite our dreams. 

“Behold He is coming in the clouds…”  (Revelation 1:7)

 

 For more information about surviving a COVID Pandemic, you can read my blog written last September:  COVID Culture of Change