“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-9, NIV)
Human beings like power. We like to be in control. When confronted with an enemy or danger, we like to fight. We do not like feeling helpless or weak. Weakness is a quality not generally sought after. Yet here I am. At almost 65 years old I am in a high-risk group for respiratory complications. My husband is 66 with high blood pressure, so ditto. No sooner was social distancing suggested as something that might be a good idea, than I came down with a fever. And it got worse every day. Called the doctor, who advised staying home and self-care, call 911 if I have trouble breathing. It never did get to that point, but within days my husband, daughter, and son-in-law were sick as well. Nothing I can do. Can’t run over and bring them chicken soup. (Who will take care of the grandchildren?) Can only lie here and hope it doesn’t get any worse. Can only pray.
The bible says, “pray without ceasing”. Prayer should be the invisible current running through everything we do. But sometimes we are doing so much, we are so busy, there is so much else going on, prayer gets lost in all the noise. Sometimes the noise needs to cease, either voluntarily through disciplined meditation or involuntarily. I confess that lately I belong to the involuntary group. Too sick to do anything. Can only pray.
This pandemic is taking its toll physically and emotionally. I don’t want to be cranky, but I am. I don’t want to be selfish about my needs, but I am. I don’t want to shut myself off from caring about my neighbors, but I am just so very tired. I can only pray.
Dear Lord, When I am weak, you are strong. When I fall down, you pick me up. When I don’t know the way, you light the path. Your grace is sufficient for me. Have mercy on us all. Amen.
Submitted by Doris Tegge
Photo by Megan te Boekhorst on Unsplash