Seven Prayers in Seven Minutes to put a Face on COVID-19

I have heard the story many times.  Years before I was born, a  Bible salesman came to the door of my remarkable neighbor, "Miss" Bertha Parker. She was a young widow with a houseful of young children and she  politely refused him. He played the guilt card; "Ma'am, are you going to stand between your children and salvation?" Her response was classic. "No, I'm going to stand between them and starvation!"

And that's what scares us today. There is nothing that stands between us and COVID-19. No vaccine, no immunity, no testing, no anti-viral meds.  Maybe even no hospital bed.

So in this time of fear, I invite you to join me in a daily practice. It should take only 7 minutes at most. PRAY for seven people or groups. If you don't have a God of your understanding, then reflect on them. I think this practice will calm and restore you. Here's my suggested 7 topics for 7 prayers.

1. Chose someone specific to pray for in leadership. Pray for our POTUS, the head of the CDC,  or Dr. Fauci, the NIAID director who has advised seven presidents. Pray for their strength, their leadership, their health and their wisdom. Reflect on what an incredible time this is in human history and how it begs for voices of hope. Ask God to help them lead with courage and care and communicate truthfully.

2. Chose someone specific to pray for in the medical field. Pray for a health care provider that you know personally. Pray for a nurse on the front line, or a pharmacist filling as many prescriptions as she possibly can. Reflect on the many people that make a hospital work, from the cleaning staff to the receptionist, to the respiratory therapist. Pray for a doctor.  Ask God to help them care for themselves and their families and for doctors to make judicious decisions.

3. Pray for someone elderly. Your grandma, your neighbor, your neighbor’s grandma. The old guy you see at the neighborhood coffee shop.They are living with the knowledge that their days are numbered, hoping for a peaceful end of life. Now their latter days are threatened. If we have a surge of case and they become sick, they may be denied care, or they may face dying alone. Pray for their strength and safety and comfort.

4. Pray for someone with a pre-existing condition and/or immune suppressed. We all know someone; that someone may be us. Pray for someone with asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes, high blood pressure. The list of what makes people suspect is long and they know they are targeted by this bastard of a virus.  Ask for their peace, their rest. Pray they are lifted and encouraged by friends and family and that they feel the love of all around them.

5. Pray for someone with COVID-19. Don't know someone? You likely will. If you don't, thank God and pray for the faceless numbers on the charts, and  their families, trying to quarantine. Ask  for healing, for peace, for faith, for trust. Pray for available treatment, hospital beds, ventilators.  And if praying for the unknown  doesn't float your boat, pick Tom and Rita Hanks or Rudy Gobert or Sophie Trudeau. There will be more.

6. Pray for the scientists.  One of my sons is an epidemiologist, so I'm a bit partial to their ilk. Or pray for researchers who are trying to tease our treatments from our current arsenal of cures or those who are working to develop a vaccine as the whole world waits with bated breath.

7. Pray for the families of all of the folks above. Their lives have been upended; they are grasping for a foothold in the rapidly changing landscape. They worry, fret, pray, research while doing their darnedest to lift up their loved ones. Pray for Strength, Hope, Wellness, and the Peace that Passeth All Understanding. Pray for love.

In this time of fear and angst, of politics red and blue, we've been given an opportunity. To see what is good in our lives, in our people, in our country. To shoulder the burdens of others as well as our own. Expand this list, add utility workers, Amazon deliverers, grocery store stockers, restaurant servers, USPS employees, and others. There is no sector of this country exempt. Pray for those who live paycheck to paycheck and without insurance. Just Pray.

And finally, be better.  Stop spewing hate. Stop with the divisiveness.  Just stop it. This is far bigger than trying to derail an election. Your attitude is as virulent as COVID-19. You may not realize it, but you are being seen and heard and you are influencing others. Try a kinder, gentler, more empathetic tact. You might even like yourself for it. Share your toilet paper  and paper towels. Don't buy 12 times what you will need. And especially, don't assume you are exempt.

Take stock of yourself as well as your pantry. Make sure there's empathy, compassion, and genuine concern. Keep an eye on the news, the CDC website or the NYT. Be informed, but not inundated.

Eat good food. Love your family. Write a letter. Read a book. Do a puzzle. Stream that series you never had time for. Walk in your neighborhood. Play with your kids. Call a friend. Cherish the gifts in your life.

If we work together, if we recapture the 9/11 sense of unity, we can get through this as a nation. It's likely to be a marathon, not a sprint, but with God's help...and each other, we got this.

And in the meantime, if you need a really good laugh, watch this SNL skit: The Sands of Modesto

Peace, out.