black and white pictures hung against a wal

Day 4 of COVID-19 shutdown, and I’m pondering the meaning of life. They say:

  • Life is fragile
  • Time flies
  • Here today, gone tomorrow
  • Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed
  • Time and tide wait for no one
  • Nothing lasts forever
  • Life is not permanent
  • Life is fleeting
  • You only live once

I’ve always said, “Life Is Fragile”.

How best to recognise the value of this life we are given? Just introduce a Coronavirus into the world population, that should do it!

I don’t know about you, but in the initial days of this whole story, when we were all still focused on Wuhan, this thought occurred to me. When you hear that people are dying by the thousands, of a disease that just jumped the human – animal barrier, has no cure, is invisible, spreading so fast that everyone is dazed and a vaccine is over a year away, you pull up your socks and take stock.

old photos in a box
In the end, will all our memories, thoughts and happy and sad moments fit into a box?

I remember, as I pondered the mysteries of life in the shower one of those early days, it struck me that I’d stopped thinking about all the things I’d been worried and anxious about before Wuhan happened. Instead, I found myself thinking about survival. All previous worries were forgotten. I mean, what is putting on a full face of make-up to look ‘beautiful’, wearing ‘trendy’ clothes, having a ‘great’ job, being popular with thousands of followers, winning awards, or anything else when your very life hangs in the balance?

All I felt was the need to chart out a plan for survival. I’m sure many others had similar feelings. There is a certain security in stocking up on tp, lol, but those rolls aren’t going to make any sense when one needs to live.

When all is stripped away and all that’s left is the realisation that life is so fragile – here today, gone tomorrow, that’s when things really come into perspective. I couldn’t help thinking about all those unsuspecting people in Wuhan who first got exposed to the virus. The high price (death) they paid bought the rest of the world time to gather useful data that is now helping us fight COVID-19. They had no time to ponder life’s mystery. They were here today and gone the next. Just like that.

No Fear

I read somewhere that ‘fear not’ has been mentioned 365 times in the Bible. That feels like more than a coincidence, seeing as the Bible was written centuries before the calendar year came into being. Saying ‘fear not’ is one thing and knowing ‘fear not’ is another. When death is knocking at the door, who do we turn to?

In our dying moments will we see death’s shadow or the shadow of the Almighty?

To fear is a human emotion. We all become afraid because that’s our human nature. It’s easy to choose fear because it takes work to get to the point where we can truly say we have no fear. To me, the place of no fear is peace – warm, harmonious, safe, whole, prosperous and secure. It’s also what my name means.

As I go through this unreal time of COVID-19, I find I’m able to get past the fears within and without in the confidence of abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. My greatest comfort is in the words of Psalm 91 which talks about faith at it’s best. To be like the author, constantly with God, now that’s something to aspire for! I was recently moved to write my own psalm.

Psalm 91 – Safe & Secure
When you sit enthroned under the shadow of Shaddai,
you are hidden in the strength of God Most High.
He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me,
the only God for me, and my great confidence.
He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy,
and he will protect you from false accusation
and any deadly curse.
His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you.
You can run under his covering of majesty and hide.
His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm.

Read the whole Psalm here.

And so I’ll go to bed tonight and every night knowing that no matter what comes my way, I will rest under the shadow of the Almighty.