“What king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?” – Jesus (Luke 14:31)
My grandparents’ generation grew up during the Depression and fought the second world war while rationing food, rubber, and metal back home. My parent’s generation had to navigate the cultural revolution of the 60s and the carnage of Vietnam. My friends watched the towers fall on Sept 11. and then signed up to go to Afghanistan or got jobs in intelligence using their computer engineering degrees to track down terrorist networks. Few people foresaw any of these events coming. Yet, when the moment came, they rose to meet the challenge.
Today, all nations and all generations, including my kids, are engaged in a medical war against the COVID-19. It’s a war with the potential to have as many casualties as any previous war and also a war that we can only win together.
It’s a war with different weapons. How thankful we should be that our weapons are not guns and bombs, but healthy living habits, hospitals, and ventilators. So, today, let’s take a moment to count the cost and consider the weapons we each have at our disposal.
Weapon # 1 – The Pillow. Our primary defense against COVID-19 is a our immune system and one of the best ways to boost our immune system is sleep. Whoever thought you’d be able to fight by getting 7-9 hours of sleep a night!?
Weapon #2 – Healthy Eating. Fruit, veggies, vitamin-C, antioxidants. We all talk about wanting to eat healthy every New Year’s when we start a new diet. Well, there’s no time like the present.
Weapon #3 – The Phone. I’ve spent the last few months trying to use my phone less. Time to switch tactics. As well as protecting us, social distancing can isolate us and make us more susceptible to depression and anxiety, but it doesn’t have to. It’s time to use our phone calls, texts, and social media to support each other.
Weapon #4 – Our checking account. Some of us will encounter economic hardship over the next months. It’s time now to look at our checking account and see what we can do to prepare. Some of us will have uninterrupted income or even increased income during this crisis. Some of us live paycheck to paycheck while others have vast rainy day funds. It’s time for those of us who still have as much or suddenly have more to use our resources to help those who suddenly have less.
Weapon #5 – Prayer. Anxiety can wreak havoc on your immune system not to mention your decision making ability. And we all are experiencing increased anxiety right now. Prayer and meditation have been scientifically proven to reduce anxiety, blood pressure, and chronic pain. Of course, many of us didn’t need science to tell us prayer was powerful after experiencing the peace that passes all understanding through prayer ourselves.
War’s coming. We know our enemy. It’s time to deploy our weapons.
(And remember, we’re going to get through this together because we’re going to be here for each other.)
Wil Cantrell 