Boom-Booms
My dog Karl hates, and I mean HATES thunderstorms. He turns into a shaking mess, his ears plastered back and flat against his head, his tail tucked between his hind legs, and he remains velcroed to my side until the wind dies down and the rain stops.
Now I haven't had him for his whole life, but to my knowledge he has never weathered a storm in such a way that has given him experience upon which to base his fear. We've never had a tree fall through the roof or had the house struck by lightning or had to flee a flash flood. But Karl doesn't need experience to feel fear. He knows that the big boom-booms coming from all around are loud and they shake the house and whatever they are, they just can't be good.
As far as I know, it is fear of the unknown--fear of what might happen-- that is as great a fear as any. Coronavirus is an invisible enemy that carries with it a host of unknown possibilities to fear. We don't know when there will be a vaccine. We don't know when life will return to normal. We don't know if we will keep our jobs. We don't know if anyone we love will get the virus. We don't know if we'll ever see that $1200 check. We don't know if there will be a second peak. .....Dot, dot, dot....etc. etc. etc.
It's a lot weighing on all of us whether we realize it or not.
Of the whole spectrum of emotions, fear is the most human one. In so many ways our feelings mirror God's feelings: God feels sadness and anger and joy. . . but not fear because there are no unknowns to God.
Fear isn't necessarily unhealthy. It's good to be afraid of certain dangers and fear curbs us from being reckless. Fear taught our ancestors to not play with wild animals and to prepare and store up before the coming winter. In so many ways, good healthy fear is wisdom.
But now as we weather isolation, fear has the potential to dominate our lives. Every morning as I drink my morning coffee, I usually tune into one of the major news networks. Over the last month or so, there is a constant running tally of confirmed US and worldwide Coronavirus cases, and a running US and worldwide death toll. I've realized that keeping it on for too long causes my anxiety to increase very quickly.
If you feel yourself wading into those waters, the tides of fear pulling you into the currents of anxiety, turn off the news, and focus your energies on what you can control. Even if all you can control is your cooking and eating, cleaning and calling a friend. And don't forget--God's listening ear is always ready and willing to take your burdens, fears, and grief and bear them with you.
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."
– 1 Peter 5:6-7 NRSV
—
Kelsey Lewis
Pastor to Youth and Families
First Baptist Church of Decatur