You Are Not Alone

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 

                                    Romans 12:10

Google “quarantine fatigue” and you’ll see scads of articles about how being in lockdown for the time that we have has led some folks to rebel and flock outdoors, despite stay-at-home orders. You’ll find pundits on the left and the right of the political spectrum commenting on various aspects of the lockdown, their messaging reflecting their take on this whole thing. (no, I’m not going to get political here, I promise!). Keep looking however, and you’re sure to finally find an article on the emotional health aspect of what is going on.  

The second or third week or so into working from home, I could not, for the life of me, figure out why I was so mentally fatigued by 4:00 in the afternoon. I was getting an hour’s more sleep each day, since I didn’t have to drive to the gym at work; I maintained as much of my morning routine as I could—devotional and prayer time with Him; working out by walking the neighborhood or even better, cardio kickboxing on the Wii, and strength training; standing up at least every hour at ten minutes until the hour as my Apple watch reminded me to; calling in to work meetings and getting work stuff done. When the work day was through, all I had to do was lock my work laptop and go downstairs to spend time with the family. Life overall seemed simpler—I hadn’t been really out of the house, not even for groceries, as Don took care of grocery shopping since he had the inadvertent free time as of late. Work was not especially grueling as it had been in the months leading up to the end of February. Yet I found myself distracted throughout the day, scrolling through Facebook and Reddit while on meetings (we weren’t using our video so as not to overwhelm the system of 15,000 some-odd people suddenly working from home) and struggling to formulate cohesive and coherent sentences for emails and instant messages in the afternoons. When a coworker who is a dear friend of mine mentioned that she was mentally exhausted every day, I told her that it had to be because she had just lost her mother who lived out of state. I couldn’t, however, explain why I was.

It wasn’t until a Facebook friend shared an article entitled “Why Am I So Tired?” that I found my answer: “we first need to recognize that the current pandemic, and the resulting quarantine we find ourselves under, is a unique situation that most of us have never faced before in our lifetime and that this situation is a form of community trauma.” Add to that the barrage of new stories about the healthcare workers working 100-hour work weeks, young people dying from the virus, hospitals running out of ventilators as well as the collective loss of our “normal”, and it’s any wonder why I, and countless others, are exhausted or feeling out of sorts, or somewhat depressed. It is normal and explainable.

So now that it’s out in the open, what do we do about it? We pray. We realize that we are not alone in feeling how we do, despite what the enemy tells us. We spend time in the word with Him. We ask for the Paraclete, His Holy Spirit, to comfort and encourage us. We reach out to our Christian brothers and sisters check on them. We pour out grace to our families, ourselves, those with whom we interact, even fleetingly. We remind each other and ourselves that greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world, and we cling to Him. We take each day as it comes, not in our own strength, but in the aegis (protection) of the Almighty God, receiving it as the gift He intends it to be. We remember to Whom we belong, and we recall that He has given each of us a job to do while on this earth, and has equipped us to do it.

Prayer Requests

·      For the families and friends of Ruby Milton and Gloria Richter, as they deal with these lovely ladies being placed in hospice

·      For leaders of the government at all levels, whether you support them or not

·      For those who face financial hardship and loss because of the economic impact of the virus

·      For healthcare workers, first responders, pastors, leaders—for protection, wisdom, and grace

You, my beloved friend, are not alone. You are surrounded by the body of Christ—people who love you and care about your well-being. You are definitely surrounded by the love of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit as He attends to you. Reach out to Him I prayer; reach out to Pastor Wayne or the church if you are in need. Resources exist to help you during this challenging time. Know that you are loved.

 Quotes

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”    --Martin Luther

“Never be a prisoner of your past—it was just a lesson, not a life sentence.”

“Death was proof that Jesus was human. Resurrection was proof that He is God.”