Changing my Mind about Covid19

Covid-19 has been going through the world since February 2020. I remember seeing it on the news of spreading through China and then it hit Washington in the United States. After that I saw the numbers spread fast, as most of the world did. Soon the states were going into lock-down. Non-essential businesses closed, some never to open again. Deaths were going up, numbers were increasing. Fear spread. Stores selling out quickly of essential items. I remember having to go to 3 different stores to find water. 

At the time I thought it was ridiculous. I was on the side of letting it go through and building a herd immunity. I thought it was a way for the government to control us and to exercise their authority over us. I thought it was crazy that people were hoarding toilet paper (still think one is crazy). I was convinced that no one knew what they were doing and that the numbers were inflamed and over exaggerated. Using Covid-19 as a way to get money from the government. But things changed for me and fast.

1. People close to me DIED

    This was the biggest reality hit for me of what Covid-19 can do. I was on the side that believed only people with underlying conditions and older people were really in danger of dying from Covid-19. Then my husband’s boss was exposed and became gravely ill with Covid. He was sent to the hospital where he had to be put on a ventilator. He got over Covid but was so weak that he contracted an infection that sent him into cardiac arrest. He died. He was a healthy 44 year old guy. He had a wife and two young kids. What I didn’t know was that once a person is put in the ventilator there is a 70% chance that they will die. 

A week later my Uncle went to the hospital with Covid and a week later he also died. A year away from retiring. Gone. I had to see my amazing strong Aunt lose her other half. They had been together since they were 14. It was wrenching to see her person gone. Taken from her way too soon. My once previous conceptions regarding Covid-19 changed.

2. Perspective

    Suddenly Covid-19 didn’t seem like a conspiracy theory anymore. It felt all too real as I had to deal with grief of loved ones being taken by an illness that is scorching the Earth. It was a moment where I realized that this was a lesson I had to learn the hard way. I had to lose people to realize that Covid is real and that it is a serious thing. 

    I found myself switching sides and hoping that the vaccine will work. That modern science is advanced enough to create a vaccine as quickly as they did. My perspective changed because I now saw that Covid-19 is a real danger. It can take people in the blink of an eye. It is a plague that spread all around the world. It affects everyone differently. Some barely show any symptoms at all while others die in a hospital. That is a scary thing to realize almost 10 months since the virus spread. We have no idea who will be affected worse than others. They have speculated and have guessed. But no one really knows. How does a healthy 44 year old man die but a guy with diabetes and smokes recovers fine? This is a disease that no one knows how to predict.

3. Being Respectful

    I was one to roll my eyes at everyone that were “extreme” in their beliefs of how to handle the virus. I thought it was crazy the lengths people were going to avoid this virus. But then I realized that everyone is simply trying to do the best they can with what they are given. There is no shame in trying to protect your family from heartache. Being respectful of others is the best way to get through this. Wear a mask (seriously it is not that big of a deal). Do what you think is right but don’t judge others for being more or less careful than you. We are all trying to navigate this virus the best way we can. 

4. God is still there

Covid-19 has rocked the world in a scary way. We have been shown that we have no idea what is going to happen in this world. God is the only one who knows. While I have been upset that God has let this rage as long as it has, I have to to think of the why. Why did He let this happen? What are we supposed to realize through this trial? 

For me, it is that God is aware of us even in tragedy. It is that maybe our focus should be on the ones we love versus the things we love. I have realized that I want to live more. Do the things I say I am going to do. Go on that trip. Call that person I love. Say I love you more. Because all of it can be gone in a second. Maybe through all of this we are supposed to come closer to God, to lean on the only person that will truly help us. There are lessons always to be learned. What is God trying to teach you through this? 

I am still leery of everything surrounding Covid-19. I do think that numbers were exaggerated. I do think that the government tried to control things they probably did not have a right to control. But my overall perspective has drastically changed and I am sad that it took me losing people for it to change. Covid-19 is real. I hope that in the coming months the vaccines work and no one else has to die from it. But I know that God is watching over His people. He will not leave us even in tragedy. I have also learned that life is pretty dang good and I plan on living it to the very best I can. Because I have seen how fast it can all be ripped away.