I was grappling with why this past week has been long and hard. It should have been one of excitement because it led up to yesterday marking one year from when I walked out of Albemarle Rehab. Ironically, today marks 43 days of self-isolation as well. Things started to come together when I heard a comment listening to a podcast. On a side note, there is a positive take away from my having and recovering from Guillain Barre Syndrome. For reasons I won’t go into here, I have never liked to be read to by others. Now I listen to books, sermons, and podcasts of interest regularly but I digress. ?. The comment made was, “we can be infected mentally as well as physically by COVID-19. We all certainly need to protect ourselves and others from getting the Coronavirus. We also need to protect ourselves and others from allowing this pandemic to drag us down into a place of discouragement. This thought was reinforced by an excerpt I read from a Regent College class “The Great Conundrum” taught by friend Steve Garber. Here is what he wrote. “the word disease was created to communicate a state of “dis-ease,” its etymological origin from an old word for “ease,” for things being the way they are supposed to be. A life with no trouble, at ease, simply said. When we use the word, we are saying that human life has been disrupted, that we are in disarray, that sometimes something has gone wrong, terribly wrong.” I am guessing we have all felt this feeling that something is terribly, terribly, wrong but have had trouble putting our finger on the part that it has nothing to do with our health.
We can allow this discouragement to mentally weigh us down. Little did I know what I wrote here last week was to help me not to succumb to what I would experience this week. Webster defines succumb this way “ I realize that to not succumb into despair I must choose to focus and trust the One from where comes Hope. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5) A Charlottesville pastor, Pete Hartwig and his son Peter are doing an online daily devotional. I listened to one recently on one of my self-isolation walks. It was about the woman who Jesus healed in Luke 13. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Until Pete shared it, I never thought Jesus may have healed this woman from the mental burdens she was carrying vs a physical one. Did you catch it? He placed His hands on her and she immediately straightened up. He wants to do the same for each one of us.
What infirmity are you allowing to weigh you down like it did the woman in the story? What unnecessary baggage or burdens are you carrying through Covid-19? The Lord wants you to let go and give them to Him. He promises in Matthew 11:29-30 “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” When dealing with GBS, I chose to do this very thing. I can’t speak for you but, Like the old ad for Alka Seltzer said “Try It, You’ll Like It”. Find the peace only God can provide. Like the woman, you will begin to straighten up as the burdens are lifted off of you. Go out now and find others to encourage out of their “dis-ease” and into the peace and contentment God promises even in the midst of this season of unbelievable challenge.