{"id":5367,"date":"2020-03-29T09:00:57","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T14:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5367"},"modified":"2020-03-28T18:26:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-28T23:26:59","slug":"covid-19-joy-in-times-of-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5367","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19: Joy in Times of Trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>A Journal of Joy: Things that make my\nheart smile\u2026<\/em><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"612\" height=\"265\" src=\"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/COVID-19-churchartpro.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/COVID-19-churchartpro.jpg 612w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/COVID-19-churchartpro-300x130.jpg 300w, https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/COVID-19-churchartpro-600x260.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s hard to believe that just a few months ago I had never heard of COVID-19. Not being good with acronyms, it took me aw hile to figure out that coronavirus disease and COVID-19 were the same thing. I\u2019m a little slow when it comes to acronyms. I just knew it was bad, easily caught, and posed more of a danger than most of us would admit. Finally, I read a breakdown of the acronym that helped: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>CO: Corona<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>VI: Virus<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>D: Disease<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>19: The year the virus was discovered in China<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Actually, coronavirus itself is not new. It\u2019s been around in one form or\nanother since the 1960s, but the pandemic strain we are currently experiencing\ncan be traced back to 2019 in China. It is definitely a pandemic instead of an\nepidemic. Epidemics are regional but pandemics spread over continents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also it\u2019s good to note that the name coronavirus has nothing to do with\ndrinking beer. Corona is a Latin word meaning crown. When this virus is\nexamined with an electron microscope, the little virions or virus particles\ngive the appearance of a small crown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of us know the main ways to keep our families and communities safe.\nIn addition to coughing and sneezing into a tissue or your elbow, plus\nsanitizing everything you touch or even think about touching, I found this\nbrief list from Consumer Reports quite helpful, balanced, and not obsessive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Follow federal and local guidance to slow the spread of the virus. Stay home as much as possible, and practice &#8220;social distancing&#8221; if you must go out.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly\u2014for at least 20 seconds each time.&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Don\u2019t hoard supplies, but be prepared for a potential quarantine. Check in on neighbors who might need a hand gathering essentials.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Stay informed but be wary of rumors you hear or read on social media.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m sure we know the\nmedia is not necessarily our friend. We need to ask God to help us\ndifferentiate between news reports and political commentaries. If not, we will\nbe in panic mode all the time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During this time, some\nof us might be a little more isolated than usual. We can use the time for Bible\nstudy, reading, listening to positive podcasts, nature walks, gardening,\nhousehold projects, etc. Stay as connected as you can to others via email,\nsnail mail, face-to-face internet chats, and telephone calls. Extra prayers are\nneeded\u2014not just for loved ones but for leaders who have to make tough decisions\naffecting many lives, for those in the food industry keeping us supplied, for\ndelivery people, for hospital staff, for those living from paycheck to paycheck,\nand so many others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Always remember you\nserve an amazing God. Although church doors may be closed due to lockdowns,\nchurch attendance is way up due to the online livestreaming of church services.\nThe world may focus on the negative, but we should focus on God. I\u2019m reminded\nof the following story. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The missionary Gladys\nAylward led 100 orphaned children to safety over mountainous regions in war-torn\nChina in the 1930s. During this ordeal, she was so exhausted she thought she\ncouldn\u2019t go on. One of the children reminded her of the story of Moses she had\ntaught them. Gladys said, \u201cYes, but I am not Moses.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The child replied, \u201cYes,\nbut God is still God.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our lives might be in a\nconstant state of flux, but God is still God! Jesus Christ is the same\nyesterday, today, and forever! These thoughts bring me great joy in times of\nturmoil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">*****<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dear Omnipotent God, Creator of the universe, Giver of life,\nProtector of my soul, Provider of my needs\u2026how wonderful to know that You are\nstill God. You are the God of Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I\u2019m so thankful\nthat You are my God and I don\u2019t have to worry. I can trust You in times of\ntrouble because You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Journal of Joy: Things that make my heart smile\u2026 By Barbara Dahlgren It\u2019s hard to believe that just a few months ago I had never heard of COVID-19. Not being good with acronyms, it took me aw hile to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=5367\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5367\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}