A Few Thoughts from the Other Side

Our house is coming out on the other side of infection. Since my brain is coming back online, let me share a bit of what it’s thinking!

Our times are not in our hands

I had plans. Covid didn’t care.

Grandson #2 was due any day, and I was to stay with Grandson #1 while Momma was in the hospital. I tested positive the day before he was due. Thank goodness I got tested and didn’t go sharing!

One of the hardest days of my life was not being able to be there for my daughter. Covid didn’t care.

But God cares deeply! He was with us in our isolation . . .

“Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.“ (Psalm 23:4 NLT)

. . . and he was in the hospital with my daughter and son-in-law as they welcomed their new son into the world.

“The LORD will work out his plans for my life— for your faithful love, O LORD, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.” (Psalm 138:8)

He knew what was coming, and He took care of all the details the same way He always does. He is a faithful God!

We’re not as strong as we think we are

My young, 22-year-old son may disagree with you. His headaches, sinus congestion and cough have been nothing to laugh about (and if he does try to laugh, he’d fall into a coughing fit!). That Covid cough lasts on *average* 19 days for folks. Fun times, right? My 75-year-old father is on day 17. It’s no joke.

Fatigue is still making some of us nap every day before we even get to lunchtime.

And then there’s the brain fog. It felt more like sludge than fog.

• It took me a full minute to figure out how old I was when the contact tracer asked.
• Another day I couldn’t remember if “wise” was spelled with S or Z.
• Driving on the road my first day off the property was probably not a good idea as my perceptions and reaction times still were not back to normal (But I didn’t know it until I was actually out there! I don’t normally run around my house at 35 mph, so I had no warning).

It seems a bit pretentious to me for us to think we’re immune when so many worldwide have fallen ill or died. With or without the presence of Covid, we think we will be here forever. But . . .

“How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” (James 4:14)

Maybe Covid won’t take you out, but you will have a last day on earth, my friend! Are you ready for what follows?

We’re not as smart as we think we are

I just can’t wrap my head around our propensity to laugh in the face of people who have been working for years in the field of infectious disease as if we know better than they. My inability to understand this pride has nothing to do with Covid brain fog – – it was here long before that hit!

Our pride in our perceived intellectual capacity can easily lead to our downfall. Everyone is suddenly an expert on everything. I try to get my information from hospitals (they’re seeing this up close and personal, they should know!) or those with medical degrees in related fields. Even so, I am still prone to reading through my own lens and interpreting things my way.

Here’s how that played out in our house. One of us first, and then two more, developed what we thought were normal winter cold symptoms. A dry cough, some congestion, regular run-of-the-mill kind of stuff. The *only* reason I got tested was to set everyone’s mind at ease that I didn’t have Covid, and wasn’t going to give it to my grandson. I was absolutely sure it was just a cold. And here we are.

Please, as we say so lovingly in our house, don’t be stupid.

Family is more than blood

Our church family has been an incredible support. Folks provided dinners, picked things up from the store, and generally just checked in on us regularly. What a blessing it has been to us! They have been a wonderful example of Galatians 6:2, which says, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

To wrap this all up I want to share a verse found in the book of Romans:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:3

You are not immune, and you are not infallible. Be safe, friends.

One last interesting tidbit

If you have a dog and get Covid, your dog knows! Don’t be surprised if they start behaving strangely.

On the days I was feeling particular weak, my pooch stuck closer to me than normal. She sat on my feet at dinnertime, lay under my work chair instead on lying on her comfy mat, and wouldn’t leave whatever room I was in.

At one point this scaredy cat puppy tried to chase off someone who was dropping dinner off. That’s never happened before! She’s always so excited to have folks come visit that she falls all over herself! But not this time. She had to defend Momma. We nipped that in the bud, but it was quite a surprise to see!

Thankfully she seems back to her normal self these days.

What about you?

Have you had a personal experience with Covid? How did it differ from ours? Let us know in the comments below!