The impact of COVID-19 is huge, and it is important to pay attention and take precautionary measures as necessary. I do not mean to draw attention away from that, or reduce its significant impact on our lives and on the world. While we are going through this global crisis, however, I urge you to stop and think about what we can learn from this virus.
As I am sure we all know by now, a virus spreads from an infected person spreading the pathogen to others by being in close contact with them, or through respiratory droplets produced when the infected person sneezes or coughs. This coronavirus is highly contagious and infectious, and it will affect many people. As you are taking important precautionary measures (hand washing, not touching your face, avoiding contact with anyone with cold or flu-like symptoms, etc), and as we pray for the world, I encourage you to also think about how other things are contagious.
Things like love and kindness.
Imagine if we spread love and kindness like a virus! If we smiled at everyone we encountered. If we, even when frustrated or angry or upset, spoke to others with kind and gentle words. And if we were just nicer all around – all of that is contagious!
When you see the acronym COVID-19, I encourage you to acknowledge that it stands for Coronavirus disease, but I also encourage you to think of this acronym as well (as you are washing your hands): Consider Others Very Important Darlings – 19. The COVID part is self-explanatory (consider others to be very important: be considerate of others, be kind, treat others as you want to be treated), but I left the 19 on there for an important reason. The number 19 in the Bible is a symbol of God’s divine order. This can mean different things to different people, and I urge you to think about what this means for you. For me, it means hope during crazy times such as this!
When the “storm has passed” and we all start going back out in public again, I encourage you to remember to spread kindness to everyone you meet. How amazing it would be if we could have a pandemic of love!
Thank you for reading, God bless!!!
