“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9 – 10
When God created everything from the vast nothingness that was, God also decided to create a human being. God began with man and quickly realized that this creature needed somebody. As God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone…” Genesis 2:18. From the very beginning we were created to be in relationships with one another. But now we are isolated. And for those of us like myself, who happen to be introverted…we were born for this. However, we are in the minority as many more people are extroverts. I was talking with my sons and they are, all three of them, going stir crazy. They are, all three of them, extroverts. My daughter is handling things better but she is a teacher and is busy teaching her students online, she has three children she is busy homeschooling, they just got a puppy right before
Covid – 19 became a major thing, and her husband is at home. I doubt she feels isolated. She may secretly wish she was!
Cabin Fever is a real issue at this time for many, especially extroverts, when we are all making the unselfish decision to stay at home so those in the most vulnerable populations don’t get sick. But with the newest reports from the news agencies, it sounds like we are all a part of a vulnerable and worldwide population. If we were to get sick with Covid-19, we may have very few symptoms. We could also become deathly ill. What we do know is it is a highly contagious virus and it doesn’t care if you are an infant or 100, if you come into contact with the virus it will infect you. It is so hard to combat something we can’t see with our naked eyes! So, at this point our safest action, for everyone, is to stay home…which means we need to deal with our isolation. In ways that are healthy.
I remember being snowed in during the blizzard of 1978. It seems an eternity ago but we kept busy. We ate what we had on hand, we read, played games, and found stuff to do. Of course if my brother or I said we were bored, our mom would give us something to do so we stayed busy! During this pandemic, I would recommend you find “stuff” to do. There is always something. Staying busy helps keep your mind off the fact that we are all probably feeling rather alone. Hey…I am even getting around to dusting! I will not share how bad or how thick the dust is but I will share that I can’t do it all at once because I start sneezing and then I begin to worry I have Covid – 19! (even introverts can get too much isolation!)
Which brings me to my next suggestion…I would recommend that while you need to watch the news and stay abreast of all that is going on and what the current status is of the spread of Covid-19, don’t watch it all day long. I discovered that I watched too much of it yesterday afternoon. So I was very grateful to The Five worship leader and his wife for posting some beautiful worship music last night. It was a great reminder that I serve an awesome God and everything will eventually be alright. Different…but alright. I honestly don’t know what will work for each of you as you navigate the world we live in isolated in your homes. I do know that if you work to stay busy and keep your mind off the fact you are not able to live a “normal” life, at least for now, it will help you navigate the weeks ahead.
My final bit of advice for everyone is to find ways we can still help each other. If your church, like ours, has a food pantry or any food pantry working to stay open to serve those who can’t afford to buy food right now, I am sure they could use donations. If you worship at a church, continue to make your contributions as you can. If you support a non-profit continue to make your donations as you can. If you live in a neighborhood or apartment complex, know who your neighbors are and find out if any need help getting groceries or medications and when you have to go out offer to pick up their items too. Look about…I am sure you will see ways you can continue to help others and encourage others during this pretty stressful time for all of us. We may be down right now, but together we can help each other up and we will be stronger because even in our isolation we found ways to be together. Here is what I know, while we will get through this, we will get through this better and healthier when we work together and help each other…maintaining social distance of course.
May God bless you and keep you.
Peace,
Beth
Beth's Blog 