Coronavirus — Do We Commemorate This Anniversary?

By Cindy Williams, RN

Coordinator, Health Ministries

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Shortly thereafter, countries around the world closed their borders and imposed stay home orders on their citizens. Most businesses and schools were closed. The supplies of canned goods, bulk food, and toilet paper were depleted overnight as people rushed to stockpile items they considered essential.

As I write this, Worldometer says that there have been 120,563,771 Coronavirus cases and 2,667,436 deaths worldwide. This represents a huge amount of physical suffering and death no matter how you look at it. We also know that mental health has taken a hit. Depression, anxiety, and suicide rates have skyrocketed. The economic impact on individuals and businesses can’t yet be fully measured.

“Two weeks to flatten the curve” has been a full year. This feels like an anniversary that it would be easy to skip. Who wants to commemorate a year that has so dramatically changed our lives? Yet I think it would be healthy to reflect back on this year. It would be sad to let the lessons learned during this year be lost. I’m only going to mention three.

• We are inherently selfish. Much of the tensions and divisions that materialized through this year could, and would, have been minimal or absent had we been able and willing to put others first. “There is nothing, save the selfish heart of man, that lives unto itself.” Desire of Ages p. 20. The only thing that can change our selfish hearts is the Holy Spirit filling us with God’s love. Oh how we, I, need that! 
• We desperately need each other. God gave us the gift of family and friends because He knew we need them. Their strength, perspective, and presence make us better people. Let’s treasure them and find meaningful ways to safely reconnect.
• Honest, open, and consistent communication is critical. Mixed, confusing, and inconsistent messages have frustrated and angered all of us. We don’t know who to trust or what to believe. It is important that we practice the kind of communication that we are searching for.

Take a few minutes to think back on this year. What have you learned about yourself? What have you learned about God? How do these lessons affect the way you live today? 

References

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

This article is part of a continuing series of health during these COVID times. For other articles, please see www.uccsda.org/healthministries.

Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash