This Christmas and New Year period has been a little different for us. Instead of perhaps catching up with friends or hitting the shops or going anywhere really, we have been at home in splendid isolation. Yep, somehow, we both contracted COVID. We are much better now but, during our time of staying put, we each learnt some interesting things about ourselves.
Of course, there were some foods we found we felt like more than others—and we did have some rather crazy meals, using whatever I could find in the house. For once, I was thankful for my tendency towards having a little too much on hand in my freezer or food cupboard. As a result, we had enough to last us for quite a few days, without resorting to ordering anything in or accessing the help others offered us.
I was happy too just to be quiet at home, edit a friend’s book, work on a jigsaw puzzle, read, watch cricket or tennis on TV—and sleep. I could have done without feeling sick and coughing and sniffling, yet there was still plenty I was able to do. On the other hand, my poor husband, who is much more extrovert than I am, began to become a little stir-crazy and even bored. I felt sorry for him—‘bored’, I realised, is thankfully something I have yet to experience as there is always some new idea in my brain to think or write about.
Needless to say, there were numerous jobs staring me in the face each day that needed to be done. Our Christmas tree was still up and there were other Christmas decorations that needed to be removed. There was the Christmas ham to cut up and do something creative with. There was vacuuming and mopping to do. Yet neither of us had any energy for such things. Now, normally, this would bother me. If I see a job to be done, I like to attend to it as soon as I can. But this time, I decided these things could wait—except perhaps the ham! Right now, our bodies and our health were more important.
But as I sat or lay in our quiet surroundings here, I realised God had things to show me too in this time. For a start, I saw how blessed we are in this country that, even on public holidays, we were able to access the medical help we needed via a teleconsultation and texted prescriptions. I thanked God indeed for such provision. But beyond that, I began to see all over again that, when we feel quite helpless, when we have nothing to offer God or anyone else, God is still there, loving us totally and wanting to reach out and care for us in every way. Here was an opportunity, a window in my life, when, even though feeling unwell, I could draw close to God, receive God’s comfort and healing and be at peace. One day, I read the following words in James’s letter:
Come near to God and he will come near to you. … Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:7. 10
May I continue to do just that as I step into whatever God has ahead for me in the coming year.
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