Pandemic Stress Meditation

I am grieving with my African friend whose brother died last week from COVID, leaving behind a widow and three children, 10, 8 and 4.  I know that there is a whirlwind of unreliable information swirling around us from all sides of our polarized society.  I’m not taking sides on all that here.  But for my African friend this is very personal. 

It’s also very personal for physicians around my extended circle of friends.  One dear MD friend was hospitalized with COVID last week.  Another MD here in Colorado was in tears last week from fatigue over personally telling 5-6 families a day that their loved one had died of COVID.  Another ER doc wrote the meditation below, which I share with his permission:

Bored, annoyed, frustrated, angry, discouraged, tired, burnt out.

These are some of the feelings many of us are currently experiencing because of the coronavirus pandemic.  Some people however are experiencing a much different reality.

Fear.  Anxiety.  Sorrow.  Grief.  Loneliness.  Body pain.  Fever.  Sore throat.  Chest tightness.  Difficulty breathing.  Death.

And hunger.  Some people in the world are literally starving.

In the United States most of us still have jobs.  Many of us can work from home.  Most of us can pay our bills.  Most of us are not worried about being evicted or losing our homes.  Most of us have health insurance and access to health care.  Most of us can socially distance and stay safe.  Most of us have plenty of food.  But not everyone.

Right now, 54 million Americans face food insecurity.  One out of every four American children faces food insecurity.  Hospitals are full.  Nurses are in short supply.  Access to health care is in serious jeopardy in both cities and rural areas as the case numbers rise exponentially.  As a nation, we are in serious trouble.  And there are some very needy people among us.

If that is the case in America, just imagine what people in third world countries are experiencing right now as COVID explodes world-wide.

Many people in our world live paycheck to paycheck or even day to day.  If they lose their jobs, their families don’t eat.  They don’t have freezers full of food.  There are no food shelves where they live.  There is no government safety net.  They just go hungry.  And that includes their children.

Most people in third world countries do not have health insurance.  If they lose their jobs, they have no money.  If they have no money, they have no health care during this deadly pandemic.

Many people cannot socially distance even if they tried.  They live in crowded conditions in overpopulated cities.  For poor people, it is not uncommon for ten people to live in a two-room house or apartment.   COVID spreads easily in these families and communities.  And if you catch the disease, it is sink or swim.  There are no ventilators or ICU’s for poor people or those living in rural communities in third world countries.  I just checked with a doctor friend in Islamabad, Pakistan because a missionary friend in that city is sick with COVID and having some trouble breathing.  I was told that the hospitals in Islamabad are full.  No beds.

For those of us who profess allegiance to Jesus Christ, this is no time for boredom.  This is no time for frustration with the restrictions on our freedom.  This is a time for purpose, for sacrifice, for serving those far less fortunate, those in desperate need.  People need help and they need it now. 

So, let’s decide now to stop the self-pity.  Instead of looking for entertainment to get us through the pandemic, let’s serve those in need.  Let’s do all we can to keep food banks fully stocked.  Let’s give generously to our churches, to missions and to charitable organizations that serve the poor around the world, especially in places where people are starving and where access to health care is limited or non-existent.

When the Apostle Paul went up to Jerusalem to ask Peter and the other leaders if there was anything he should add or change in his gospel message, Peter only had one thing to say:

“Remember the poor.”

To which the Apostle Paul replied,

“The very thing I was eager to do as well.”

The Apostle to the Gentiles had a theological summit with the Apostle to the Jews, and what did they end up talking about?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, during this pandemic that seems to drag on forever, let’s heed the advice Peter gave Paul two thousand years ago:

“Remember the poor.”