Schools are shuttering. Churches are closing. Events are cancelling. I couldn't even find a cart when I went grocery shopping this past week. The fear and hysteria and panic are real. As a person, who's always struggled with anxiety, these things haven't helped my mental health. But I'm trying to keep things in perspective, because I know that stress lowers immunity perhaps more than anything else. And mental health is still health and something to be supported and upheld wherever possible. Here's what I'm doing to that extent:
1) Preparing. No, I don't need to buy toilet paper for a year, but I do want to be prepared. And after my panic last week about barer cupboards and food scarcity, I did what I could. I bought five pounds of pasta, 13 pounds of oatmeal (the rate at which we go through it is unreal!), four pounds of beans, and some barley and extra frozen vegetables. Will it get us through months of isolation? No, but it will get us through some time, and that eases my mind.
2) Praying. Perhaps the most powerful thing we can do, and what can bring peace. Prayer may not halt the spread of this virus, but it can stymie the control fear has on us. I'm all for that.
3) Going to church for as long as we can. Hebrews 10:24-25 has come my way so many times lately. I'm all for quitting non-essential social gatherings (my heart goes out to all those planning weddings at this time), but church is essential. So for now, we'll go, practicing appropriate social distancing protocols. And after that, we'll stream online services or do whatever else we can to stay connected. The Body is important!
4) Getting outside. Yes, social distancing is a thing, but we can right now still walk or run around our neighborhoods or hike (though we might avoid places where we have to touch common surfaces, such as Camelback).
5) Making our home a "virus-free" zone. We don't want the virus, but we don't want fear to control us, either, so last weekend, I asked my husband to hold me accountable to not analyze the situation further outloud. If there are details we need to discuss, we will, but otherwise, we will go on living to the extent that God allows.
Pat Palau, in her book What To Do When You're Scared to Death (which I non-coincidentally started reading before this hysteria) shared the oriental legend of cholera. A traveler met Cholera on the road and said, "Where are you going?"
"To Baghdad to kill 20,000" Cholera replied.
The traveler later met Cholera and said, "You lied. You killed 90,000."
"No," Cholera replied. "I killed 20,000." Fear killed the rest.
Let's be smart. Let's be practical. Let's be wise. But let's not let fear control us. Let's tend to our mental as well as physical health. And if this plague gets us, let's have lived our lives well and rejoice, knowing that we have certainty about our eternal home in heaven.*
*If you don't yet know Jesus as Savior, today's the day! Do the ABC's and receive eternal certainty about your destiny.
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