 |
Ain't this the truth?
|
The year started off by our president, Donald Trump, making the call to assassinate one of the most evil people alive, Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Most of us would consider this a great thing, but that's not how it played out. Everywhere you turned, people said it was the beginning of WWIII. Macy came home from school worried about it. FEAR. The other students were all talking about it. The media clung to it like a dog given a meaty bone. Politicians warned of WWIII, but we made it through without too much of an incident.
 |
| It sure has felt like that from school, graduations, weddings, sports, camps, concerts, etc. |
We made it through only to be clobbered by COVID-19. The media, the nations top doctors, politicians, citizens, friends, and family all agreed that it was the most deadly, quickest spreading disease the world has ever seen. And maybe, it is. I am not here to argue that point. I am here to talk about the FEAR. I sat in a doctor's appointment for my daughter the last day she was able to attend school. She texted me three times that day from school melting down, scared, terrified. Her blood pressure was high and never has been. The sweet nurse asked her is she was stressed. She burst out crying. She was scared, scared that her mom would die (I have asthma), scared by the unknown of lockdown, scared of not going to church, just scared. FEAR. I thought as I watched her cry, this is what FEAR looks like. The next day things got even scarier as the National Guard was called to our city to setup makeshift hospitals and testing sites. We were given shelter in place orders. We were told to disinfect our groceries. Jake had to continue to work as he was deemed essential. I didn't know he was so frightened but saw a text to a friend saying how scared he was. FEAR. I saw my big strong husband worrying as our retirement slipped away everyday that the stock market dropped. I heard him reassuring people on the phone that things were going to be ok. His voice said one thing, but his face said something else. FEAR. I am not going to lie. I froze up. I was paralyzed the first couple of weeks. I didn't sleep at night. More often than not, I cried myself to sleep those first couple of weeks. FEAR. Runs on meat, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, lysol, Clorox wipes, and many other items. FEAR. Running total of confirmed cases and deaths. FEAR. How do you reassure your children when you don't know what is going on??? Hospitals, in most states, were not as overwhelmed as the nation thought they would be. The economy is starting to recover. Jobs are being added back. Things will probably never be the same, but we are adapting to the "new normal".
 |
Didn't we???
|
Then, came the murder hornets. This news item ended up being a flash in the pan, but we were supposed to be scared. I am sure that they are scary. Who wants to be stung by something called a murder hornet??? As you read about them, it is scary! FEAR. Thank God nothing has yet to come of them!
 |
Sometime the fear waiting around the corner was worse than the one we just faced.
|
What on earth could be next??? We have already had a threat of WWIII, a pandemic, and a murdering insect. The year isn't even half over. What's next? A black man in Minneapolis, MN, was arrested for using a counterfeit $20 bill. A white policeman stood on the man's neck with his knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. No attempt was made to restrain him differently. No attempt was made to sit him in the backseat of the police car. Three other policemen stood by and watched it happen. The video is horrifying. FEAR. Politicians from the top on down, the media, citizens, other police organizations, pretty much everyone spoke out against this horrific act. Then, the protest happened. The protest turned into riots. Buildings (stores, churches, police stations, national monuments) have been vandalized, looted, and burned. Policemen have been killed. Store owners trying to protect their stores have been beaten. In my own city, three people were shot two of which died. FEAR. It happened on a Friday night. That Saturday, Macy begged her dad not to leave us on Monday for a work trip. There was an online rumor circulating that the riots were leaving the cities and heading to the residential suburbs. She wanted security. She wanted to feel safe. FEAR. Once again, how do we reassure when we don't know ourselves. To date, some of the larger cities still have riots going on. One city has even had rioters take over a government building and area. FEAR. I am not here to debate any of the events. I am here to discuss the FEAR. I think most of us would like to see things calm down some.
 |
Please tell me it isn't so!!!
|
On to the next disaster! I am lumping 3 into 1. The online media has recently shared 3 new FEAR items with us. First, a meteor the size of a stadium is hurtling through space heading towards earth! FEAR. Can't Bruce Willis just go drill a big hole in it and drop a bomb down it??? Second, the Yellowstone volcano appears to be getting more and more active. If it blows, the western half of the country will be devastated. FEAR. Third, a solar storm could potentially happen this summer. If it happens, it will wipe out all of the satellites in space. We will have a communication blackout like we have never experienced. FEAR. Here's to hoping that none of them happen.
 |
Molly, our dog, watching Pastor Piazza Gospel Reflections. She loved him. She also learned to chair sit over the lockdown. She made the most her time.
|
Now, what do we do about this FEAR? I sometimes feel like someone is holding my head under water and not allowing me up to take a breath. I come close but never quite reach the top of the water. You pray! We need God more than we ever have. Sometimes, I have so many prayers and so many fears in our changing world that I don't know what to pray for. Most nights, I pray, "Please God, please God, please God." over and over again. He knows what is on my mind and in my heart even though I can't express the weight of it in my words. Getting to attend multiple online services has been kind of fun. Getting to attend church with our dog was something we never would have gotten to experience otherwise. Also, turn the tv off, put down the phone, close the laptop, and hangout with the people around you. I saw something wonderful happen in our house while we were in lockdown. We talked, we played cards, we sat on the patio and listened to music and watched the birds and ducks. We had nothing to do but love each other. It has been kind of amazing. The last thing is exercise. I am probably the most anxious so I got up most mornings to walked on the treadmill or row on the rowing machine. At lunch, we stood in a circle in the living room and lifted weights. In the evenings, we took a walk around our neighborhood. The sunshine was great, but the walks were everything. We got to see people. Moving your body always feels good. It gives you a really good vehicle to channel all of that FEAR and stress. We are so busy all of the time it is hard to fit it in. Now, it is so much a part of our lives, I hope we can keep it up.
 |
| We haven't hit hunk status yet, but we are working on it. |
I don't have all of the answers for sure. I just know what worked for our family and what worked for me. 2020 remains the year of FEAR. We all have to be strong. We all have to adjust to a new normal, and pray that 2021 is a much better year.
 |
I think we all did a little of this!
|
Comments
Post a Comment