A Nation in Distress

I know everyone is in a ball about the coronavirus, and in many respects, we all should be worried. From several of my kids who work in various aspects of healthcare, I know that it has a 5-day, asymptomatic incubation period, meaning I could have it and spread it five days before I develop any symptoms and know I have it. It spreads 2-3x faster than SARS did a few years back.

Initially, I have been tempted to joke it away. I have posted memes that make fun of and/or downplay the run on toilet paper. (Honestly, I still fail to understand why this is happening. Why buy up all the toilet paper? It’s a respiratory virus on the loose…not your bowels.)

I’ve also been extremely frustrated with the mainstream news media. THEY are the ones responsible for ramping up the fear and causing people to overreact, in my opinion. Every night for three weeks, all we’ve heard is coronavirus, coronavirus, coronavirus. This past Friday, the stress of hearing about it finally hit a peak in my psyche and I felt overwhelmed and panicky – not because of the disease, but because of the idea that we are being encouraged as a nation to stay away from each other. Because the national guard is being called in to man “containment zones” and there has been talk of how to handle people who refuse to go into quarantine. The little conspiracy-theorist that dwells deeply within my heart has been in overdrive.

Our president has called for a National Day of Prayer tomorrow, Monday, March 15. Anybody who knows me knows I have no love for our current president. However, this announcement reminded me that we have a remedy for the panic and fear: We can pray. I believe so much in the power of prayer. I have seen prayer accomplish some fantastic things, including literally raising one of my family members from the dead. Literally from the dead.

A week or so ago, I was going to blog about this crisis with my typical, off-the-wall humor. I wanted to mock the situation. It’s amazing what just a week can do to one’s thought processes. The situation is serious and it is scary.

So I want to encourage you to pray. No matter what you think of Trump or the current state of the union, be glad we still live in a nation where our leader suggests prayer. Rejoice in the freedom to pray in whatever manner you choose.

If you can’t think of the right words or are unfamiliar with prayer, then simply focus your energy on agreement with everyone who will be praying. Pray, obviously, for the virus to be contained. Pray for scientists and doctors to pinpoint a remedy. While you’re at it, pray for all the doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers (receptionists, IT workers, cafeteria workers, laundry service workers – non-medical personnel) who may be at higher risk of infection.

Pray for your family and for the wisdom to handle the situation calmly. Be kind, especially in the stores when you see someone loading up their cart with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, or with what seems like a ridiculous amount of food. Remind yourself that you do not know the mind or heart of those folks.

Case in point: Joe and I have been excitedly waiting to get our taxes back because we have had a mostly-empty freezer running in the garage for months and have been looking forward to stocking it up. We spotted that our taxes had been deposited Friday, so yesterday, we went to Walmart and bought about a month’s worth of food, partly because we got our taxes back and had planned to do so anyway, but partly because of the hype. I admit it. For those reading this who may not know us well: Joe has extremely brittle bones and he had surgery two years ago wherein his vertebrae were fused, L2-L4. Two days ago, he slipped and fell at work. Fortunately, an x-ray revealed that his pins and screws all stayed in place, but we decided we should go ahead and stock up. Our decision was based partly on the fear that he might become hurt and would miss work. However, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t at least partly because we worry about the stores being closed or of being told we can’t go out should our community become a “containment zone.”

As we pushed our increasingly full and heavy cart through the store, a lady and her kids walked past us. I heard her cluck her tongue and make a remark about us. I heard the word “ridiculous.” It embarrassed me but also angered me. Don’t judge me, lady. You don’t know a thing about me or us or why we are buying so much.

Her unkind remark, though, made me realize that maybe some of the “funny” stuff I’ve been posting lately, making fun of people “buying all the toilet paper,” isn’t really funny and actually comes across as judgy. Maybe one of my social media friends bought a lot of toilet paper and my posts have made them feel embarrassed and angry. The thought prompted me to remove some of my posts. Who was that lady at Walmart to judge me, but more importantly, who am I to judge anyone? Forgive me, Father.

So pray tomorrow. Pray for all the things related to the spread of this scary virus. Most of all, pray against a spirit of fear in this country. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7