This Pandemic...
Hello readers, I hope all is well amid this national shutdown, pandemic. Things here in our small town in Texas are finally coming to a slow halt. The grocery stores are slowly becoming depleted of the necessities, they finally put a limit on water, toilet paper and tissues we can buy. People from the surrounding towns are coming and depleting the little we have; we have even had people from El Paso come buy groceries, that is a 4-hourdrive. Our little family is in quarantine right now. We have not heard if anyone in town is sick, but we have a lot of people coming and going in and out, constantly. Businesses are trying to control that. I know my husbands work will not allow anyone to work that has not been here for 14 days or more. That means no new help, no new employees, and no one comes or goes. Some men with families in nearby towns have had them come stay with them while we are on quarantine, but they had to get permission to do so. A lot of the guys can’t go home (or anywhere) and they are upset, but no one can afford to not work, or get sick. Our little town is doing what we can to stop the spread and to help each other out. The only people that are happy about this time are the kids. They can’t go anywhere or do anything, so they are all outside playing each evening. Church services are being streamed online; we don’t have any food places that deliver here so literally everyone is stuck in place. The only place we can go to is the gas station and grocery store. That is pretty much all we have anyways, but it is still a weird feeling of being “quarantined”. Does anyone remember if this happened during the H1N1 virus?? I sure don’t, and that pandemic was about 50x’s worse. Speaking with my family back home in Phoenix Arizona things there are far worse than what they are here. Grocery stores are depleted, inflation on meat and vegetables are in effect (which is illegal during a state of emergency), people are hoarding supplies and selling them for an inflated price; again illegal. Stores are not allowing returns on bulk products which could lead to the vulnerable people in our community without supplies. My grandfather had to buy milk at a gas station because the stores were out and had a line to get in a mile long. It makes me sad to see our country so divided and self-centered. I pray that this passes soon, and life goes back to normal. It is creating a scare that I feel is unnecessary. We can see how far our country is from God, and it is scary. I am not saying to not take precautions, what I am saying is we need to come together in prayer, we need to become stronger in our faith instead of the government. We must learn the (basic)fundamentals of sharing instead of hoarding, helping instead of “fend for yourself”. We must get back to coming together, praying, sharing, doing for others. That is what the bible instructs us to do.
If you can help your neighbor now, don’t say, “come back tomorrow, and then I’ll help you. Proverbs 3:28
Our people must learn to do good by meeting the urgent needs of others; they will not be unproductive. Titus 3:14
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 1 Thessalonians 5:15
Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:24
Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 1 Timothy 6:18
I can keep going on and on with what the bible says about doing good for others. This wasn’t really a request; it is a command from the Lord. We are to do good for others and help those in need. I pray for our nation, the needy, the vulnerable, those without. I also pray for those who are hoarding supplies and taking from others. I pray they see the impact they are having on everyone around them and have a change of heart and help those in need. This is a time to come together, so lets make a commitment to hep those in our neighborhood, grocery store, churches, anywhere where you see someone struggling in this difficult time. I pray for our nation and those around the world who are sick and have been affected by this pandemic.
Lets come together for the good of others.
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