The third wave of this pandemic has been brutal. In Ontario alone, the province has reached its highest daily count of 4,812 cases prompting another lockdown. The ICUs are overflowing with patients, the nurses, and doctors, exhausted and the vaccinations just can’t go fast enough. The Covid19 variants have been known to be more infectious and potent, targeting the younger demographic. This is not happening in Canada only but other countries as well where governing bodies struggle to fight off the surge in cases. We learn a lot of heartbreaking news of impacted loved ones, friends, co-workers, and other acquaintances. We grieve and mourn with them as they go through these tough times.
All these events take a toll in each one of us. This is even more heightened with the lockdown and restrictions we face. We can’t do the normal activities that used to energize and motivate us. We feel confined within the four corners of our rooms and houses. For those of us who love to travel, our options are limited to places within our region which contributes further to a perception of confinement. We have been in this situation for more than a year with no end in sight.
Before darkness, despair and frustration consume us, I believe it is vital to pause, breathe and most importantly, PRAY. I love this definition of prayer from desiringGod.org. Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. Prayer is an expression of faith in God’s power, fueled by a desire for more of Him.
Indeed, the realization that there is a Higher Power at work and that we do not have control over our situation is freeing and liberating. What is more freeing is the surrender of our lives to that Higher Power, the Almighty God who knows all things and desire to be actively involved in our lives. Slowly our doubts are replaced with faith, our fears into confidence, our chaos into clarity, our despair into hope, our restlessness into calmness and our frustration into thanksgiving.
The transformation does not stop there. Since we are filled and refreshed, we are ready to face our day. We open our minds on how to be productive even amid the prohibitive circumstances we are in. We are no longer paralyzed by the anxieties that weigh us down. Above all, we can look beyond ourselves and be channels of blessings to our families, our friends and neighbours.
Pray today. Jesus is waiting.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
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