Viral Post

Today, the coronavirus, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic by the WHO.  Are we living the predictions from the days of SARS, that one of these animal-borne viruses would mutate to infect humans in massive numbers?  Experts in the field have long warned that the US, along with many other countries, is ill-prepared for such an outbreak.  Funding for research, medications, trained professionals, and supplies has been dwindling for years, with the current administration wreaking havoc on the pursuit of scientific advancement at an unprecedented level.  Something broke through for me today - I'm scared.

I am 65 years old and have asthma, two of the known risk factors for becoming severely ill from this virus.  People are contagious before they know they're carrying and spreading the virus.  At first, testing was limited to people with the identifying respiratory symptoms who had traveled to certain foreign countries.  Now we have cases in the US where exposure is unexplained by travel or known contamination.  UGH!  I've decided to take myself out of circulation for at least a few days to see if they can tell us more about how this nasty illness behaves and disperses. I contract pneumonia when no one else is sick, so what would exposure to COVID-19 do to my lungs?

Fear and faith go hand in hand.  Are the faithful spared the emotion of fear? I don't think so.  I believe Jesus, in his time on Earth, experienced the full array of human feelings, so He would have been afraid in the face of his unavoidable execution.  His friends even abandoned Him, unable to stomach the painful path He had to walk.  So what are we to do with our fear?

For one thing, we have been given the capacity to think.  In my tradition, a provocative poster has circulated among college centers and the halls of education wings. A backlit Jesus has his hands folded in prayer under a text that says, "He came to take away your sins, not your minds."  Today is the first day the Governor of Arkansas has announced a probable case of the virus.  It is not yet widespread where I live.  My husband and I, as members of the age cohort of concern, did a thorough grocery shopping yesterday.  We're good to go for awhile if self-isolation becomes prudent.  I even wore medical gloves in the store. We both have established relationships with our primary care doctors, and a young cousin of mine is a pulmonologist/acute care physician in our town.  We're up to date on vaccines, and employ the routine healthy habits of hand-washing and thoughtful self-care. I can think my way down from panic.  I have helpful choices available.

What else might we do in the face of this or another calamity?  I'm a strong believer in prayer, so would like to offer the following:

Merciful Savior, protect us from threats we cannot see or avoid.  Wrap us in your healing light to keep us safe.  Strengthen the patients who are fighting COVID-19 and other serious illness, and comfort them and their loved ones. Be present to the bereaved. Take care of the first responders and medical personnel who are on the front lines.  Shield them from harm and keep burnout at bay.  Keep us mindful of all who live at the margins of society, who lack access to basic hygiene and medical care.  Help us respond to their needs as we are able.  Put far from us our human inclination to hoard more than we need out of our fear.  Only You can supply the healing we seek for our bodies and souls.  Come, Lord Jesus, in our time of need.  Amen