STOP MAKING ME NERVOUS May 21, 2020
I read that not a few would agree that during this
quarantine period, many are experiencing what we call, “pandemic-induced
insomnia”. The kind where one takes an inordinate amount of time falling asleep
in spite of spending hours just lying down in bed, then waking up in the middle
hours of the night, and finding it hard to fall asleep again. Often, one wakes
up several hours later, with the sun so high up in the morning, with a dull
headache.
I learned that this is all caused by anxiety, brought
on by uncertainty, and exacerbated by loneliness from being quarantined, locked
down, and isolated, especially since, as a people, it is our culture to always
communicate and relate on a face-to-face, physical basis with colleagues,
family, friends, and pretty much everybody else.
It’s sad to listen to and watch the news, but it’s
difficult not to get updated, as we see thousands, and probably millions more
of our own people coming back home due to the global recession happening in
their countries of work, with little or no prospects of work here. And so too,
all the more disheartening when we learn about the millions in the world’s
greatest nations fall victims to the pandemic, with many of those who survived
filing for bankruptcy and unemployment. What would become of us, a developing
nation? We who were once the sick man of Asia, how much sicker could we get in
the future, as goods and services markets and investment sources dry up around
the world?
And for many, this has led to bouts of depression and
a general weakening of resolve, a kind of slow disappearing of hope of what the
future would bring. There is a universal anxiety of what life holds for us, and
would we still be alive during that time, to support our families and give our
children a brighter future.
However, a radical (and yet age-old, if you are a
Bible-believer) source of hope from an Israel Bible studies article says that
“in the midst of The Plague, we are actually [also] held in GOD’s hands”. It’s
a kind of rewording of the lyrics of the song, “Footprints in the Sand,” the part
which says that when we think we are alone because of only one set of
footprints, GOD Himself is actually carrying us. Even if we think of the bridal
carrying style, or that which I prefer, the K-novela inspired piggy-back ride,
the study and the song gives some measure of hope that when it is most
difficult to stand and walk because nervousness, anxiety and fear weaken our
knees, we have one whose legs are the strongest, who never fails to “carry us
through” (pun intended).
And to all that makes us afraid today, may we find
hope in King David’s words who said, “The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom [or of which]
shall [or should] I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
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