Today, as many of us are, I am welcoming in 2022!
I debated whether I would acknowledge the change of date at all this year, but I eventually settled on January 1st as a reference point – not so much a reset point, and for that I am grateful.
I believe these past few years have been challenging for many of us – and much of it is due to the ripple effects of COVID.
In restrospect, I clearly remember when I started seeing hints of some new virus that appeared to be ramping up in China in 2019. I prayed over it every night as I saw it coming, “God, why are you allowing this?” It wasn’t a matter of me questioning what God does and does not allow in our lives, I just wanted a better understanding of what we, the world, was about to face.
I shared some of my thoughts in my blog, NOVEL CORONAVIRUS – FEAR OR DISTRACTION in March 2020, including, “I heard the Lord press on my heart that he will not stop this disease and that this is His warning. After all, he is the healer. He is the One that can stop the disease.”
In late June 2020, my husband contracted COVID, and I followed suit a few days later. We had a long 6 weeks in bed – but thank the good Lord, we had no hospitalizations – just extreme fatique and some very weird physical and mental symptoms. I shared some of that experience in my blog, MY MENTAL STRUGGLE WHILE RECOVERING FROM COVID-19. I read my words from that blog this morning: “Are we ever going to feel completely normal again? Are we going to receive absolute restoration? I have hope, but I don’t know. I have faith and thank you Lord for keeping us out of the hospital.” I now can see that we, my husband and I, have come a long way. I had forgotten the unusual (to us) symptoms and mental issues that we struggled with as we recuperated physically and mentally.
Sadly, as I had hoped to avoid mixing the topic of this new year with COVID, I am doing so once again as the variant Omnicron is reaching out and touching our lives personally. As far as I know, I do not have it, but I am struggling with symptoms of allergies that I deal with (it seems) every few months. On a side note, who would have ever thought that a person could be allergic to pine trees, and not realize it until they passed the 60-year-old mark? 84-degree temperatures on January 1st doesn’t give nature and allergies much of a reset either. I say that with a little smile on my face – not out of negativity.
Two of my neighbors, not living in the same home, have tested positive for COVID this week. Several other neighbors are looking for places where they can test. As of yesterday, the quickest waiting period in our area was 5 days. By then, the symptoms of the virus may die off or be gone completely. So, undoubtedly, this Omricon is spreading rapidly, and it (hopefully) will come and go with little destruction (loss of life, hospitalizations, permanent damage or symptoms, etc.). Perhaps this will be the end to the ever-morphing virus that started as COVID-19?
I do believe the virus will always be present – perhaps not ‘the C’ virus, but some virus. I listened to a fascinating YouTube video last night as I was trying to block out the commotion of fireworks and firecrackers going off (for a solid three hours prior to midnight). Dr. John Campbell and his guest, Professor Khansarinejad, talked about virology in our world. There are virual materials everywhere, even deep in our oceans – not so much COVID, but in incredible amounts, literally in every living thing. Check the video out at Amazing Virology
So, today, I am grateful for the new year. Grateful that my family and friends are safe. Grateful that my neighbors, even though they are sick, are up and walking around. Grateful that time has moved forward and that research and science is learning more each day. Grateful for life itself.
Setting any thoughts of the virus aside, I am looking forward to a fresh new year, without making resolutions based on a few written sentences, but with personal growth that is rooted in daily prayer, “I want to better myself each day. Help me to see and follow that path.” Yes, I believe the best way we can manage this difficult world is day by day, moment by moment, with a grateful heart. It involves mental self-care – which is something we all need to invest in.
What are your thoughts this new year, 2022?
His Pasture Press 
I had covid last July. Although my case was relatively mild, probably because I was fully vaccinated just before I caught it, I am still having difficulty with some things. Low energy level, not keeping up with the dusting, vacuuming, and laundry, and it’s much harder for me to focus my mind to write in my blog.
What you said here in your post really resonates with me. I can relate to everything you said, except for the three and a half hours of fireworks! Thankfully, we only had about five minutes of neighborhood blasts going off, just after midnight. But it was enough to send our three rescue dogs into a terrible panic. We had just kissed at midnight and gone to bed, when the BOOMS sent our fur babies scrambling up on top of us. I said to my husband “Well, 2022 is off to a wonderful start!”
God bless you, Mary. Thanks for articulating what I cannot. I’m praying this brain glitch is temporary. But, above all, not my will but His be done.
I pray that your glitch is temporary too! You may already do this, but sometimes handwriting a journal gets my thoughts flowing again. With COVID rearing up around us, it feels more difficult to steer away – but for those of us that write, we know that passion is our outlet. Happy New Year to you…and God bless!