Because joy wasn’t circumstantial in the first place
It finally happened.
After 10 long months of diligently:
- avoiding the majority of family gatherings, including Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of the year,
- postponing almost all social hangouts, again and again, until they got canceled altogether,
- passing on hugs, no matter how painful, no matter who offered them,
- staying 6 feet away from humanity when all I’ve wanted to do is hug every person who was hurting, (did I mention I’m a hugger?)
- wearing masks even when we were the only ones in the room and probably looked like hypochondriacs,
- and washing our hands like surgeons in training until no lotion was good enough,
…our family got Covid-19.
Our whole family.
My son, my husband, my daughter, and my… me.
(Call the English police, our house is locked down like Fort Knox. They can’t get to me).
And so we isolate the week before Christmas.
And, since it’s a 10 day quarantine, we isolate the week of Christmas.
We could be bitter.
Or angry.
We could point the finger and blame others.
But the fact is, we thank God for His goodness.
We see His hand everywhere.
It’s a matter of perspective.
It’s about perspective: Loving others enough to draw limits
Our approach to the pandemic has been to limit the spread to others.
From the very beginning, it was about protecting the people we love, and the people who are most vulnerable.
We love our parents.
We love our daughter’s elderly residents.
We love people we have never met but deserve to be prioritized.
We are (sort of) young and (sort of) fit and believed from the start that if we got it, we could handle it.
Thanks be to God, we were sort of right.
Our symptoms have included pretty much everything in the list.
But they could be much worse.
And they could have spread to the very people we have tried so hard to protect.
It’s about perspective: What if there is purpose in suffering?
A song came to mind yesterday and I’d like to share part of it.
It’s by my favorite rapper, KB, and it features Jasmine Le’Shea.
It’s a true story, Jasmine’s story.
Jasmine is a young woman who has needed two heart transplants now.
Talk about perspective.
She joins KB in “Heart Song,” which you can hear if you click here.
The song came to me yesterday as I was in a line for no-contact medication pick up, having been Covid tested yet again, feeling like my head was going to explode and blast off my neck.
(I can happily report, it didn’t!)
If Christian rap’s not your thing (I love it, no judging!), here’s part of the bridge, which gets into the idea that God may use suffering for a greater purpose:
I might not know what the answer is,
But I know what the answer isn’t,
It can’t be that He doesn’t care or He’s nonexistent,
Suffering’s a problem and while many are rejecting God,
Just because you don’t know the answer doesn’t mean there isn’t one,
What if God’s plan for pain isn’t for you to skip it,
We need the nightmare to appreciate not being in it.
“heart song” by Kb featuring Jasmine le’shea
That’s the thing.
Suffering can make us appreciate the goodness in life… and the Giver of the goodness itself.
It’s a matter of perspective, and we choose joy
It has been scary.
“Frustrating” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
And believe me, it has been sad.
But our perspective remains one of gratitude for all God has done and will continue to do.
Gratitude is powerful stuff.
It’s a major source of joy.
See where I am going with this?
Let me share just some of the things we have been grateful for.
But before I do, I need to say that I know that we are not the only ones who are struggling right now.
In fact, as you read this, you may scoff internally, waging a much bigger war, wishing that all you had to deal with is Covid-19.
Friend, if that’s you, please hear me out. While our circumstances may be very different, and only you can know what you are going through, let me gently state again: Joy is not circumstantial. It is an inner effervescence for life regardless of our situation.
My hope is that sharing our perspective will help you redirect yours toward a more joyful one, if you need to. ❤ If you’d like to talk with me one on one, I am here.
Despite having Covid-19, we find God’s goodness in:
Simplicity: When “life as we know it” changes, the simplest things suddenly seem more beautiful… The snowflakes, Christmas lights, laughter, and timeless lyrics of Christmas songs are all so meaningful right now.
Creativity: It may sound trivial, but I celebrated being able to safely purchase Christmas gifts that had to wait until the last minute. It was a creative challenge that ended up being fun.
Hope: We have hope of recovering. We are most definitely on the mend and getting better by the day. We pray for others who receive an unexpected diagnosis, who find their worlds suddenly paused beyond their control. You are not forgotten.
Access to good health care: We can get quality medical treatment. We can drive in a car to get it. We have insurance to pay for most of it. Again and again I am reminded of our brothers and sisters in this country and around the world who do not have these same privileges… and of the fact that they shouldn’t be privileges at all.
Togetherness: As hard as it is to not be with our families right now, we do have each other. We realize countless individuals are in isolation completely alone, and our hearts ache for them.
Support: No one has more loving friends or family! While most people in our circle don’t know (surprise!), the few who do have brought over food and gifts, called and texted to check on us, and reminded us they care. While our son isolated at college for the last week, his roommate stayed with him. We were never alone!
Jesus: To us, Christmas is still Christmas. We don’t need earthly proof like snow or gifts or large gatherings to prove that God became man out of love for us. We believe Jesus was born to save us all, whether we have traditional celebrations, isolated celebrations, or none at all. This is where we see God’s goodness exhibited most of all.
Until next time, consider your perspective, be well, and…
Job said, “That which I feared has befallen me.” The combination of FAITH and COURAGE is unbeatable when the faith is in God and the courage is in the faithful. When FAITH and COURAGE are securely linked with OBEDIENCE and PRAYER, although we will falter, the greatest commandment, to LOVE GOD without limitation and to LOVE NEIGHBOR for your Neighbor’s sake, is the spiritual DNA for real JOY. May your family know real joy, discovering its anti-viral effects.
Bob, wow, thank you so much for taking the time to post these timeless words of wisdom. May we all know real joy, as you have so beautifully described it. God be with you!
Prayers for continued healing for your whole family. My bout with Covid began, I believe, shortly before Thanksgiving and ended around December 9. While I had multiple symptoms, I never had a fever (took my temp at least 1x/day) and worked throughout my illness – just trying to keep my germs to myself as best as I could. Gotta love our latest apparel addition of the masks! Took an antibody test last weekend to confirm that I do have short term antibodies, so I definitely had Covid. The saddest is for those who get the disease and end up desperately sick or even pass from its horrible grips it puts on some people. But, even then, in the end — we can have JOY knowing we are resting securely and disease free in our Saviors waiting arms. He is the great physician!
Hi Gail, you are so right, the greatest joy of all is meeting the Lord face to face. In the meantime, we praise Him for His goodness in the waiting room of life. I am so glad you are ok… that’s a long time to be ill. We thank you for your prayers and our hearts go out to the hundreds of thousands who have had it so much worse… let’s continue to be in prayer for them.
Hi Robin, From our family to yours, we are praying for a quick recovery. I know this has to be tough, and I’m so glad your finding gratitude in all this. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and all the best. ❤️
Thank you so much, Jill! We so appreciate your prayers. Regardless of our circumstances, there is always, always something to be thankful for. Merry Christmas and be well! ❤