Feeling God's Presence
Hello there!
This past month has been rough, confusing and exhausting but yet
hopeful. You may not be aware of this but my family tested positive for COVID a
couple weeks ago. We wanted to keep it to ourselves at first but then we
realized the love and support of family are essential when you go through
something like this.
Quarantining
My dad was the first one to get sick and then me, my mom and my sister, at first we thought it was just the flu but it wasn’t. My dad went to the hospital to get tested and was positive, almost immediately my mom, my sister and I went to get tested but the results came back negative. We went to get tested again after a week due to the symptoms and the results came back positive the second time, except for my sister.
Dealing with a common cold or the flu is stressful enough but having to
deal with this not well known virus was by far scary and exhausting. My dad’s
symptoms were headache, tiredness, sore throat, diarrhea, loss of taste and
smell and chest pain. My mom’s symptoms were headache, tiredness, joint and
muscle pain, chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea and diarrhea.
My symptoms were headache, weakness, sore throat and loss of smell and taste.
The first two weeks were the hardest ones; I was not feeling as bad as my parents were so I ended up taking care of them 24/7. I had to cook special meals, clean and disinfect the house, wash dishes, keep them hydrated, give them medicine, take their vitals 3 times during the day every day; I had to be extra cautious with my mom due to her hypertension, her blood pressure was roughly 170/105 and is still pretty high. We haven’t been able to take her to the cardiologist yet because we are still in quarantine.
I know this virus affects people in different ways; it all depends on
the person. It has a higher risk on people of older age, weakened immune
system, if they have had previous lung problems, diabetes, obesity, kidney or
liver problems or other diseases of concern. Thank goodness it wasn’t as severe
for us as it is for other people. I thank God we are all feeling a heck of a
lot better now and past it.
In spite of the fact that being sick is not pleasurable I have to admit
that quarantine has definitely brought my family closer together. I’m thankful
for having more free time to spend with family and make new memories. Before
this pandemic I could barely see them during the day even though we live in the
same house. I was always busy with school, church and the hospital. Now we can
enjoy each other’s company and learn from one another.
HIS Presence
When I was doing my
clinicals at the hospital I had the same feeling. Even though I was running
around and doing different things I could feel his presence in each one of the
patient’s rooms; it was a sense of connection between me and God and God with
everyone else. Taking my time to acknowledge he was there used to brighten
up my day, not physically but spiritually. I know it doesn’t look like that to
everyone and it also depends on your emotional state. People who are at peace
and calm could find it easier to feel his presence, but people who have a lot
of burdens (death, loss, illness, worry,
financial problems, grief, guilt) or lots of expectations of what his
presence should look like could have a harder time feeling his presence.
If you haven’t yet felt his
presence tune yourself to his frequency and try to recognize his voice and his
doings in the simple things in life. Don’t try too hard! He will reveal himself
to you, acknowledge who he is and your great need for him. Allow him to heal
you from the inside out, to clean your mind, heart, spirit and everything you
are.
Church
Online
Oh boy, how much do I miss face to face church! I miss my kids,
abuelitos (grandpas & grandmas) cafecito after church (coffee hour) and
just being there laughing and enjoying ourselves. People say you don’t know
what you’ve got until it is gone and it’s so true. We never thought we wouldn’t
be able to see each other and hug for so long. But the good news is the
internet was created in the 60s, was publically available in 1991 and now we
have sooooo much technology, we have different apps that help us keep
communicated and connected. Thank God for that!
I’ve been working with the Junior Group (11-14 years old) and recently took over Sunday school again (temporally). Trying to keep these two groups connected and interested in the activities requires patience and dedication. I know it is not the same having to do everything online and it could be boring but at least we are doing something. I send videos with bible lessons and activities for the kids and it’s working very well so far.
I’m trying to encourage reading to the youth, sending readings once a week with
a task but that is not working as I expected. These kids don’t like reading
that much ☹ but I won’t give up on it! I will keep you
updated.
If you made it until here THANK YOU! Thank you for taking time to read
this and for your support and prayers. I know there are people out there who
think this virus is not as serious as it sounds and we shouldn’t wear
protection when we go out but let me tell you this from my personal experience.
Having COVID is not fun, so wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your
distance, and don’t go out if you are feeling sick. Yes, you might get it and
recover from it as we did but there are others who won’t have the same luck as
us.
My prayer for you today is for safety and protection; I pray for good
health, for you and your loved ones; I ask God to be with you each and every
minute of this day; I pray that you may feel his presence wherever you are and
rejoice with him. Don’t forget how blessed you are to be alive, to have family,
to have food and shelter, to have a job and people who look after you and care
for you. May God bless you always, Amen!
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| Peace out to my Junior year of college, I am a Senior now!😎 |
SOMETHING YOU CAN PRAY FOR:
- Please pray for my
family so we can have a full recovery
- Please pray for my
studies as I start my senior year on August 24th
- Please pray for the
sick. May the Lord bring healing, comfort and peace to their bodies,
especially for some of my nurse professors who have COVID and have severe
cases.
- Please pray for my
growing faith and relationship with God.
- Please pray for the
church and every single person who is a part of it.
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