Coronavirus, I’m tellin’ you, [This] is real, [This] is getting real!
In case you did not like my rendition of Cardi B’s quote, you can look it up for yourself.
I really did not want to encumber you with yet another post about COVID 19. However, I just wanted to share my own experience with the transition that literally every person on this planet has had to got through.
Amidst this pandemic you hear messages of faith, fear and everything in between echoing all over the world.
I have to be honest; I was a little frustrated with myself. I always believed myself to be an incredible woman of faith. BUT with the panic happening throughout the media I was struggling to find that woman inside of me.
My pastor had shared the testimony of John G Lake during the Bubonic Plague. I would highly suggest you find the story and read it for yourself. When I read the story, I was on a plane, on my way to New Orleans. I was on the plane with a face mask and ear buds to drown out the sound of any coughs or sneezes. My paranoia was getting the best of me.
I read the article and immediately felt that my safety precautions were a little, tiny, teeny bit, over the top and more importantly it made me question my faith.
Later on I reread the testimony and asked myself “Do I have this level of faith?” I immediately began to feel like a fraud. Had I been pretending all this time?
Have you ever found yourself in limbo, not knowing how you should feel, react or be about a thing? That is the exact place I found myself. I was confused with all the emotions, feelings and thoughts that I had. It all seemed paradoxical, to have all these thoughts of being strong, believing that I was immune all the while looking at the fact that people were becoming infected at an increasing rate and dying!
If you search COVID 19 in your Google browser, you will find over 2 billion results within 45 seconds. That is not to include all the posts from friends and family across social media platforms.
So here I was faced with the question, what should I think of all this? How should I be? Who am I? No, but seriously, the state that the world is in can make you question those things and I am not afraid to admit that. Am I that great woman of faith?
YES, I am.
What I discovered about myself, my faith and the way that I receive information is that I MUST find the balance. See, If I allow the religious part of me take over, I would not follow the rules of social distancing, I would still hug friends and family, cough without covering my mouth (I never do that) and all those gross things that we sometimes would not think twice about. If I let the practical side of me take over than I would put all my trust in hand sanitizers, disinfectant spray and vitamin C that you can’t find anywhere on the local shelves.
FAITH to me is like the Spiritual IMMUNE SYSTEM. What if we were to “cultivate” both?
What is the first line of defense from fear and anxiety? Eh?
What I learned about the Bubonic Plague is that it is the first of three plagues. It is when the bacteria, Yersinia Pestis, enters the body and causes swelling in the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes swell because your body has sent a signal to your brain to activate those glands of the immune system. If your immune system is not strong enough your body will then enter the other phases of the plague ultimately leading to death.
Our faith works the same. When the sensationalized news outlets, capitalizes on fear, our mind is the first point of attack. The fear evoked by the stories of the rapid spread and death of people all over the world left my mind in agony.
What I have decided to do is to eat my vegetables, take my vitamin C and build my immune system while reading and meditating on the word and praying, asking God to strengthen my immune system and my faith. If I had a scripture for this post there would be a million but here are three.
Romans 10:17
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Romans 12:2 (or the whole book)
Figure out what works for you and Find the balance. Stay well and healthy!
Love,
V
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