Be Strong, and Have Courage

Here it is April 2020. For the first time in 112 years, the United States, and the World, is being held hostage by fear of a germ, the SARS-CoV-2, or CoVid-19 for short.

Don't get me wrong, we should be concerned about the current pandemic. We should be practicing the best hygiene we possibly can. Wash those hands. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Stay home when you're running a fever. Clean your house and get rid of the stuff you no longer need or want. But we should be doing that anyway. It's common sense.

What we shouldn't be doing is panicking. And hoarding. After all, God is still on His throne and knows exactly what the outcome is before things even happen. He's probably hoping we'll learn something useful during the hard times. Like enjoying time with your family, learning how to communicate with your children (or parents). To go back a few generations and learn how to be self-sustaining isn't a bad idea, either. Grow some vegetables, sew an article of clothing, make a small quilt, learn how to make soap. Read a book. Sit outside on your porch or patio and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. It's much cleaner out there lately. Have you noticed?

We are all being inconvenienced in one way or another. That's life in general, and virus or no, it will remain so. Instead of wasting time complaining about what you have no control over, embrace what you have, enjoy what's around you, and for goodness' sake, SMILE! A smile never hurt anyone and is known to be almost as contagious as laughter. Now, that's a pandemic I can really enjoy!

The fact is, politicians and conspiracy theories won't fix things. They can do what they feel is in the "best interest" of the population, but they can't make this thing go away. We simply have to muddle through it. If you are unhappy with how they're doing things, there's an election coming up - vote them out of office. Fire them, and put someone else in their seats.

Complaining about people going to the stores without masks or gloves on won't fix this. If you're that concerned, do all of your shopping online and don't go out of your house. Those carts and baskets might well need a wipe down. But those items you're bringing home have been handled by several people during their time in the store. Your mail is handled by several people, for that matter. And all those packages you do order online will have been handled by multiple people.

Fact is, even CoVid-19 has a limited lifespan outside a host. Scientists aren't quite sure how long that lifespan is. Depending on the surface, it is only a couple of hours to potentially a few days. But disinfecting surfaces can shorten that lifespan. (Like I said before, clean your house and get rid of things you don't want/need!). I use a bleach and water solution to disinfect.

In the end, things will settle down. Life will have a slightly new normal, but it will resume. When it does, the next ongoing worry will be paying all those bills that were postponed while you were unable to work. They didn't go away, they were just delayed. But you will get through that, too.

In the mean time, be strong and have courage. Pray for and support each other. Don't waste your time and energy with anger and complaining.