Will We Really Be Okay?
Has anyone else enjoyed the peace and comfort that comes with having extra healthy kids? There’s been no pitter-patter of feet to wake me up in the middle of the night with a fever. I haven’t had to keep track of when to give anyone anti-inflammatories, which can require a complex dose chart. I haven’t had the stress that comes with last-minute doctor’s appointments for sinus infections or unexpected viruses. My kids are notorious for getting ear and sinus infections throughout the winter and I’m usually on alert for potential illnesses, but not in 2020. Let’s be honest, as hard as this last year has been in so many ways, there have also been delightful perks in the parenting department. Insert my OCD smiling sideways as new circumstances and questions loom. What will going to back to normal feel like? Will I be able to fall back into the rhythm of trusting God when the kids start getting sick again? Will I mourn the time we’ve spent isolated in an unhealthy way?
I find myself already lamenting sicknesses that haven’t even happened yet. As more and more people get vaccinated (which is a whole different topic that can cause anxiety!) I am elated at the potential return to “normal life,” but in the same breathe fear what effect all this isolated comfort will have on mental health. I’ve felt a sense of control amidst all the unrest brought on by the measures used to prevent the virus. Many of the procedures we’ve all adopted have prevented illness of other types and it’s gotten easy to rest too much in that new reality. I think I will need to dust off some old OCD strategies as our immune systems begin to work a bit harder again which will likely not be pleasant.
God will meet me in all the panic. I’ll likely feel stress when my children head back to school this fall. I’m sure the number of sniffles, sinus infections, and stomach bugs will increase as my kids get back into the classroom, masked or not. Despite the discomfort that comes with illness, there can be sanctification happening that is far more valuable than my comfort. God will graciously meet me in the middle of the night with my feverish child as exhaustion and fatigue make me wonder if I can survive the next day. He’ll meet me in the inconveniences, stresses, and worries that come with taking care of sick kids. He has promised in His word that He will be with me always, in both wellness and suffering.
If you’re feeling a similar twinge of uncertainty as things open back up, know you aren’t alone. Not only do we have each other, but we have a big giant God who loves us and will walk with us. He will give us the strength we need in each moment as we face those old familiar germs of days gone by and whatever new ones come along as well.
“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4: 17-18
