By Right now, everybody is waiting and watching for an end to the coronavirus pandemic, around the entire world. This crisis will end and everybody will be impacted. Are you waiting for life after the coronavirus pandemic? This will be part of world history. How will you say you lived each day of the coronavirus pandemic?
All of us have experienced waiting before. Waiting for a baby to be born when you have a due date is a much, anticipated miraculous time. Waiting for a wedding and the joyous celebration of the union of the couple is exciting. Waiting for a celebration such as a birthday and rejoicing with friends and families. Waiting for the New Year and the “new” opportunities. We seem to love to wait for fun, life giving situations.
However, waiting for others things may bring anxiety. Waiting for a diagnosis or waiting to hear you don’t have cancer. We often know the “results of the scans and diagnostic testing will be available next Wednesday” for example. Waiting for relief from a pain that we are suffering. Waiting for the recovery after a natural disaster feels like an endless time period with uncertainty. We have anxiety and fear when we wait for life changing, life ending, and painful situations.
Remember the people of the Old Testament. They waited for the Messiah. The promised Messiah. They waited without a timeframe. Many of them knew and trusted the Messiah was coming.
Now, look back to a time in your life when you went through a storm/crisis. Since it is in the past you already know the outcome. My daughter lost all of her memory to Lyme disease suddenly overnight. As I have written before, we did not know what the outcome would be. Would she be well again? Would she have her memory again? SEVEN months later we had the answer. Yes, she had her memory. Yes, she became healthier and healthier. But we couldn’t countdown for the seven months because we did not know when she would be healed with God’s miracle.
“With God all things are possible”
Matthew 19:26
The other day I saw God’s plan in my son’s life as a nurse. After waiting for several months for credentialing and prescriptive authority, he started working as a Nurse Practitioner in the hospital, THREE weeks ago. God literally, just pulled him out of the ICU nurse position which he grew as a Christian nurse and loved, THREE weeks ago. This change in jobs, provides a protection to my son by lowering his exposure to the coronavirus. It does not eliminate his exposure but it definitely decreases the exposure of an ICU nurse caring for the coronavirus patients on ventilators.
This comes as a blessing, as my son is a kidney donor. He donated his kidney to a “brother” in Christ five years ago. His gift of life has provided life to this young man in unmeasurable ways as he preaches and reaches so many with God’s word. The reality, both the donor and the recipient are at higher risk during the coronavirus crisis. God’s plan has shown His love and protection.
Waiting. Waiting for God’s plan. If you knew you only need to social distance for one more week. If you knew you could return to your job and your normal schedule in one more week. Would that change your reaction and your coping?
We have a lot of changes in our lives during this season. We do not know for certain what life after the coronavirus will look like for us, for our community, for our country, or for the world.
This time. This time in waiting had been given to us. How are you spending this “extra” time? We all feel different because of the coronavirus and social distancing. Could you reach out once a day to one other person via telephone, text, email, or messaging, to talk and listen? Could you learn to do something new: a game, card game, playing an instrument, painting, baking? Could you spend time reading God’s words which can provide comfort and understanding? Could you pray more often for your needs and the needs of others and in thanksgiving to God?
And while we wait, please stay at home. Social distancing. Handwashing. Cover your sneeze and cough. If you are sick, stay away from others.
