I Miss My Work! Another COVID-19 Story

I know this sounds odd, but I miss my work! There has been very little I have done in the way of patient care for almost a month because of the public concerns with this novel coronavirus, because of the national recommendation of social distancing since March 16, 2020, and because of Governor Abbott’s executive orders of March 19, 2020, and March 31, 2020. I miss my work, I miss relating to my coworkers and my patients, and I miss the routine of my life!

Never had I imagined governments removing my ability to work. Because of the law, I am unable to earn a “paycheck.” I have lost temporarily my role as the main provider for my family. I also have business and personal bills, creditors, vendors, and service providers to pay with no active income of my own. I am drawing on cash reserves and depending on my wife’s income. I did not plan on all this!

Yes, the government is willing to provide for some help for small businesses and individuals. We all can be grateful for that. Many of us are depending upon some governmental support during this tough time, which none of us could have anticipated. For years, many of us have paid insurance premiums for protecting us financially from fire, theft, water damage, liability, personal disability, death and more. There is no insurance for pandemics that we are aware of, so we rely on the government to some degree. This makes me grateful yet disappointed at the same time. I have worked so hard to be self-reliant.

This resonates with my personal life too, though. I had always wanted to be self-reliant. However, something about life was unplanned and got in the way. For many of us, this can be many things. These life events can be the death of loved ones, the loss of a job, the end of a special relationship, or an injury or disease with life-long effects. Each of these life events were unplanned and to some degree caused us to lose our balance. In some way, we had to manage this imbalance.

For me, my faith came front and center in 2007 to help me gain my balance again after over seven years of many imbalancing events and circumstances. In March 2007, I found a God who was not far away. Rather, I found a God who was everywhere I looked and who was within me. It was like I got a new pair of glasses. It was like someone showing me what Waldo looked like so that I could find Waldo in every page of that picture book, with some effort.

A Waldo imposter who was found.

So in this pandemic time, when our life gets out of balance at no fault of our own, I am again reminded about how faith enables a re-balance in the midst of the imbalance. I am reminded how faith overcomes fear. I am reminded how doing the best I can enables me not to worry, knowing in faith that God has the rest, knowing that God’s grace is enough, after I do all I can.

In these times when our work is interrupted, when fear can set in, and when we get imbalanced because of this novel coronavirus pandemic, may we turn to our faith. I know the source of this faith is real because I have experienced the One who got this all started. The God I know is all around us and is totally in control. I can trust in that. May we all trust in that, as we do all that we can for ourselves as well as for others. God’s grace is indeed enough!

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