Life With Corona Virus COVID 19

 

Sunrise Over a New Day

I am writing this after testing positive for COVID 19, part of the Corona Virus pandemic.  Having to spend 4 days in the hospital, alone, shut away from the world except for the wonderful people taking care of us, trying to take deep breathes, coughing up blood and scared that I would not see my loved ones again, my life has surely changed.  Never spending that much time in a hospital or being that sick in all my 77 years makes you stop and think about your life and those you love.  

When I was awake and able to think, I listened to several pod casts and watched some videos  by Christian women I admire, read my Bible, and prayed and prayed. Praying not only for my health to be restored but also for my family and friends that do not know The Lord as their Savior.  In other words, when I die and go to my eternal home in heaven, they won't be there.  More than that, they are missing all the joy, peace and love of living in God's kingdom here on earth. Life is so full of blessings and joy as we walk with the Lord every day looking forward to being with Him for all eternity.  

It is life not of fear but of victory over sin which the Lord won for us when He died on the cross and rose again to sit on the right hand of God as our intercessor.  Our lives can be lived knowing He is watching over us, protecting us from Satan, and wanting to show others who He is through our lives. It is not  a life of don'ts but a life of yeses as we live like the Lord. It is life full of light that shines through the darkness of this world to show others how to walk with the Lord and not in step with this dark world.  

Lying there in that hospital bed, I prayed and prayed for many of you who will read this posting, I hope, and begin to realize that you need the Lord in your lives. I am including a simple plan that you can follow to find this peace and victory.  It is from a source that I trust and please take time to read and think and ask for guidance.  

GOD'S SIMPLE PLAN OF SALVATION

God Loves You!
John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God loves you! He is more than an impersonal police officer or schoolmaster; He cares about you personally and desires a relationship with you. He loves each of us so much that he sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins. But why?

Our Sin Separates Us From God
Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Every individual who has ever walked this earth has sinned against God. Our sins merit a penalty, which is separation from God forever. Revelation 21:8 describes what that penalty is: "8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whore mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

Jesus Paid for your Sins
Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." When Jesus died on the cross, he offered full payment for the sins of every person who has ever walked the Earth. He who committed no sin took our place to receive the penalty for our sins, which is death. This is the ultimate expression of His love for us, and He offers to take that penalty completely free of any charge. Not only that, but he proved that His offer was genuine by rising from death three days later.

You Must Trust Jesus By Faith
Romans 10:9 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." If you realize that your sins separate you from God; if you believe that Jesus lived a sinless life, died for your sins, and rose again; if you understand that He is the only way you can be saved from your sins: You can turn from your own way and trust solely in Jesus to save you from the penalty of sin. Trusting Him is called "Faith." And God promises in Romans 10:13 that He will bestow His grace on those who do so: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." If you put your faith in Christ, you will be saved!

http://www.northstarbaptistchurch.com/god-s-simple-plan-of-salvation.html

If you need to talk to me, feel free to email me for I would love to share how you too can be saved to live victoriously.  

I am better and hopefully soon will be well.  Being tethered to oxygen is surely a new experience for me and I have great empathy who live like this all the time.

Please take care of yourselves, wear your mask, practice social distancing, and stay at home if possible.  This is a bad and can be deadly disease. 

Nuff Said 

PEACE IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM

A few hours were opened today for exercise on the beach in Crescent Beach FL and I was so happy to take a long walk on the sand and put my toes, or both feet, in the water.  That wonderful feeling of the sand and sea was what I needed right now for some peace and joy. 

Being in the midst of a pandemic is one of the most depressing events I have experienced in my lifetime.  The Coronavirus Covid 19, is a deadly disease that is covering our world in darkness, sickness and death and is forever changing the world as we knew it just a couple of months ago. 

Our countries were not and are not prepared to take care of all the sick and many dying patients.  Our health workers are completely exhausted, not enough equipment, too few testing kits and other medications, and no experience in treating this unique virus. Our world is experiencing a disaster which we have only seen in movies, read in books and said that it is Science Fiction with the emphasis on Fiction.  It will never happen here or in our lifetime, has been the attitude of most, including me.   

Well, it is here! It is happening and we are clueless in many ways in controlling it or taking care of our ill and dying.  We have been told to quarantine ourselves in our homes unless we are “essential or necessary”.  What does that mean?  There are as many opinions on who these people are as there are people.  We are told to keep at least 6 ft. from another person, unless it is family that lives together.  Good idea but many people ignore the directive and meet for parties, dancing in the streets, funerals and worship services and many other group activities. The illness is being spread each time this rule is broken and a lot of these people in these groups seem to care less.  They think they are invincible and “It can’t happen to me” is the thinking of these people.  Can you say “clueless” or “stupid” would be appropriate to label these people?

Masks worn over the nose and the mouth will help the spread of the virus enormously if people would only wear them.  We soon exhausted the supply of masks and instructions began to appear on many websites on how to make them even if you can’t sew.  Many of us began to sew masks, some by the hundreds to give to health care workers, family members and others.  But, many people will not wear them and look at you like you are crazy when you wear one.  

We are in St. Augustine FL today and over half the people we saw had no face masks on, even children with parents.  What are they thinking?  Maybe they are not thinking.  I pray the children will be safe and that parents will realize how serious this time is in our world.  

The beaches in Florida were opened today  from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm after being closed for several weeks, to give people an opportunity to exercise by walking, running, etc.  No gathering in groups, suntanning, chairs, umbrellas  or partying.  Our beach we use was full of people following the guidelines and loving the chance to enjoy the sun, sand and sea.  However; in some areas, the rules were completely ignored and partying, suntanning, and other group activities were being enjoyed by many young people.  This type of behavior is dangerous for them and others and could result in the beaches being closed down again. 

What is it with some people?  Selfish, self-centered and arrogant seems to be the attitude and I am sad that these people do not seem to care for anyone but themselves. Hopefully they will not become sick or infect others. 

Walking the beach this morning, feeling the sunshine and ocean breeze on my face and arms, I thanked the Lord for a beautiful world and finding peace and joy to refresh my soul.  Several Bible verses were running through my mind.  “ The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1) , “I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:1-2), "For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land." (Psalm 95:3-5).  

My prayer was one of praising God for the beauty  I was experiencing but primarily I prayed that God would remove this terrible virus from our world. Knowing that God’s plan for this time is perfect, I had to pray, not my will but Yours be done.  It is hard for us to remain faithful and at peace because we don’t see the whole picture but only a tiny bit and we don’t understand His whole plan for this particular minute God give us wisdom to know no matter what is happening or will happen is unknown to you and that you will walk through it with us and shield us.  

I wish you could be with us as we are enjoying this beautiful area of God’s creation for a little while.  May you rest easy wherever you are in the arms of our Lord and Savior. 
Frances 

AN OPEN LETTER TO MR. VIRUS 

(This comes with a warning - if you don’t like sarcasm, don’t read!)

April 11, 2020

Dear Mr. Corona Virus,

This is to let you know it is time for you to go away, get lost, vamoose, or scram.  You are no longer welcome here in this world.   “Social Distancing”, Quarantine, Stay At Home, orders are a real pain in the buttocks.  You think you have the world by the tail and it seems that way at the present time but I don’t like it. This is all your fault so please vamoose. 

Why am I so upset? Weeell, let me give you a clue.  I cannot get in my car and go anywhere I want to without a stupid looking mask on my face.  When I arrive at the grocery store (about the only place we can go) I have to be sure my mask is in place, gloves on my hands or sanitizing wipes clenched tightly in my hand to wipe every surface before touch it, and look around for people so that I can  6’ away from them. Some, I don’t mind because warm weather can bring out odors on some people.  By the way, Mr. Virus, this is everybody, even my close friends and neighbors.  Do you think this is the way we act in South Georgia?  We have to hug, pat on the back, and ask about their mamas and them.  That is difficult to do standing 6’ away without shouting and do we really want everybody to know that mama is losing her mind with all the viruses going around or that the grandchildren are driving their parents insane ? You may air your “dirty laundry” in public but our Southern mamas taught us differently.  We only whisper it to our best friends and swear them to secrecy.  

This situation is also keeping me from going to Walmart except EARLY in the morning and I don’t do “early morning”. ! I have to go to Walmart for my entertainment!  Where else can I go and see strange people acting weirdly.  It is also where I see all my friends and I can’t hug them so why see them? By the way, Walmart is the only place in town I can buy fishing worms and that is the only recreation I have right now so please move on so I can go to Walmart again at a decent time and hug all my friends. I need to catch up on all the news (gossip). 

The most irritating of all restrictions and  why I am  grumpy, whiny, put-out, angry, and about to throw a “hissy fit” is that I cannot go to the beach.  You see, you nincompoop, because of you and people acting stupidly and gathering in bunches during Spring Break on the Florida beaches, the governor shut them all down.  Now I cannot walk on the beach until I calm down and you should see what this is doing to my tan.  IT IS ALMOST GONE!! I look older without my brown fat?  White fat is awful looking so go away.

Speaking of “looks”, Mr. Virus, I need a haircut badly for it takes me more than 5 minutes to blow-dry my hair and that is unacceptable.  I am gaining weight, so soon my clothes will be too small and I can’t blame it on the dryer any longer.  Someone has to eat the snacks before they become stale, right?  Cooking from scratch is a bummer and though it tastes great, there go some more pounds on the hips.  You need to exit the world before we all look like the Goodyear blimp with long hair. 

You have turned me into thinking wisely most of the time and I’m tired of being nice.  I want to be grumpy occasionally and not Miss Positive and Miss Sunshine all the time, for this is difficult sometimes.  I want to throw something now and then, say a little cuss word maybe, drink a whole bottle of wine (just kidding) or run around the house naked (not really for I can’t run anymore).  I want to put on a pretty dress, go out to eat inside the restaurant, and to the movies, not streaming on TV.  Mr. Virus, you are making me into a whole new person, and I kind like the old one. 

Mr. Corona Virus, if this letter offends you, so be it.  I am tired of beating around the bush and people blaming everyone else for our problems - politicians, religious leaders, and other countries.  You have made us into paranoid, selfish hoarders of toilet paper of all things.  I guess the most popular Christmas gift this year will be a six month supply of toilet paper with some bottled water.  Of course you can leave off the water or the toilet paper may not last 6 months. 

Now that I have told you what I think, will you please GO AWAY.  You are not wanted here and please take all the hoarders with you for we don’t need them either.  

As we say in the South, good riddance to bad company and don’t let the door hit you in the backside as you go out the door.

Sincerely,
Frances