God is Good...ALL THE TIME...Even In a Pandemic by Susan Hames
Once a year I am a “cool mom,” and we skip school to attend the Strawberry Festival. We go with some wonderful friends that we have known since our girls were in kindergarten class together. Since we both have “twins” everything works out perfectly. Each twin has a friend to ride with and not a sister.
We all enjoy eating our way around the festival snacking on Peachey’s donuts, funnel cakes, shortcakes, fried Oreos, and of course the famous strawberries! While we were enjoying a carefree day of March 6th simultaneously in North Carolina my friend’s husband was in an airport contracting COVID-19. The next few weeks would change our world, and he would fight for his life.
Mid-March we started tackling Quarantine, COVID policies, taking temperatures, layoffs, furloughs, return to work policies, ZOOM, TEAMS, remote interviewing, etc.
I am reminded of the book of Proverbs where it tells us that our character needs to be grounded in the fear of the Lord, and when it is, it changes how we work. We do not strive to serve our own ends or to please other people, but instead we take action based on God’s character. A good example of this would be not focusing on ourselves and putting others first. The fear of the Lord can also lead us to forgive our coworkers when they make a mistake or speak up about something that is wrong in your workplace. Living in fear of the Lord means we do not need to live in fear for our job or our status. Knowing this, should I not fear this virus and all that means and look UP?!
The pandemic has been a crash course on survival in business all the while hand sanitizing and learning to make masks! Literally overnight we changed the entire way we do business. Praise God we have some really smart people at the office who came up with ways to work remotely . We could interview, process I-9s, and conduct orientations without physically seeing someone! Oh, and did I mention we were all doing these things while sitting next to our kids while they were experiencing a new way of learning online too? Working from home while the kids were there was a huge reminder of why home schooling was not an option for our family.
Mid-March my friend’s husband was moved to a room with a ventilator, and the Doctor told her to get his affairs in order! WHAT?! So much fear! He was the first person in his county diagnosed with COVID. At that time, there were no masks in the hospital yet and visitors were still allowed. My friend sat by her husband’s bedside in the hospital. There was not a “COVID Ward” yet. At that same time in Florida, we still did not know anyone who had been diagnosed with this virus. How could we have been at the Strawberry Festival with thousands of people and not a care in the world…..yet?
Soon we all felt alone, abandoned, scared to die, worried, exhausted, powerless, and just out of control.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV), the Bible says, “But he said to me, ’My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Finally admitting my pride and reluctancy to submit and trust the Lord throughout this crisis, I decided to confess what a big sinner I am and that I had ZERO control of what is going to happen with the virus. I decided to spend time daily reading my devotions - outside in nature . I would read or listen to a bible app (thank you Michelle for teaching me about this app). This quiet time grounded me. It gave me peace. It was just me, coffee, nature, and what I needed the most…..being in the WORD.
Be faithful in crisis! Six months later: My friend’s husband is alive! A lesson in trust has prevailed. 2 Corinthians 7 says, “For we live by faith, not by sight.” This pandemic has given me an opportunity to grow in my faith, fear less and love more. In the midst of all the madness, I am praising God for His divine healing of my friend’s husband and all that I have learned in this season. To God be the Glory forever!