I have come to fully understand and appreciate what it means to be anchored in my faith during this quarantine.
As I shopped for food to get ready to remain inside for a while, I started to feel a bit anxious. I had to steady myself in my faith. All I could do was prepare, but not hoard. If we were to stay home longer than the food we had, then I had to trust God to somehow make a way for us to get what we needed. (At that point we didn’t know if they would close all stores or not. Thankfully, they didn’t.)
This pandemic has since then brought multiple occasions for me to grab hold of my anchor again and again. Here’s a few that come to mind after almost 3 months of dealing with Covid-19.
When stores ran out of Hand Sanitizer and Lysol
When I couldn’t figure out why we needed so much toilet paper
When I developed a fever and got sick
When no masks were available
When the news broadcasted fear and created panic
When the elected officials and doctors gave conflicting information
When I heard of people young and old dying to the left and right of me
When the whole world was on lockdown
When I heard all the theories of what brought about this pandemic
When conspiracy theories were formed and they started to make sense
And, most recently, killer bees and snow storms...
My first reaction was: really? Where are we? Where is the world we knew? Why is the media trying to fill us with so much fear? It's all feels so perplexing to me. What can be done to gain back some semblance of control over our lives, over our world?
What will our future look like once this is over? The education system, businesses, the economy? We’ve been cooped up in our homes with more questions than answers. All the things that had once made us feel secure in the past are now unstable. Everything has been shaken by this pandemic. It produces so much anxiety within us, leaving many feeling restless and unable to sleep, even with all of this free time.
I don’t know where others anchor themselves to remain hopeful, steady, and anxiety free. For me, I have found my anchor to be my faith. In the face of uncertainty, my faith has held me secure. No matter what it may look like now, I believe that God is still in charge of this world, of my world.
The Bible teaches us in John 16:33 that in this world we will have many hardships, but we need to take courage because He has overcome them all. God tells us this so that we can have peace in the face of our problems. He shows us that He is our Rock, our Strong Tower, our Cleft in The Rock, our Sure Foundation, and our Anchor in the Storm. His Word is the lamp that lights the way for us when it’s dark.
So, yes, during this time like no other, I have had to hold onto my faith in God.
I have seen how important that anchor has proven to be. It has steadied me. It has given me hope for my future, for our future. It has given me faith that we will still have the power to make a difference in this world instead of just hiding out in our homes. I have watched our leaders try to figure this all out day to day, leaving me to grapple with the unknowns and contradictions being shared through the media. The most important thing for me continues to be, my anchor. It, or should I say He, reminds me that He is safety, in a world with a crumbling foundation. If you feel lost, adrift in the waters of anxiety, He’s there for you too. Grab ahold and feel the security He offers.
