Have you had Covid yet?
This week was my turn after escaping it for a little over two years.
It was bound to happen at some point.
I sit in my bedroom away from my family isolating, resting, reflecting, and honestly thinking…I’m grateful.
Every single one of us will go through a moment in our life when we are vulnerable. Something will happen with our health, our jobs, or someone close to us to make us pause and think about life.
These past few days I’ve come to a few realizations with this alone time.
Some of the best expressions of love can be felt when you’re sick.
It’s difficult when you go from the person in the house taking care of everyone to the one in the bedroom relying on everyone else.
For me, a deeper love has revealed itself these last few days.
Love has come in the form of multiple Facebook messenger calls from my son wanting to see my face.
Love has looked like a mixed bouquet of flowers with a fake purple butterfly decoration that sits in my room because my daughter thought I had to have them from the grocery store.
Love has been tray after tray of food and hot tea passed back and forth through our bedroom door entrance from my husband taking care of me.
Feeling love when you’re well is something to treasure. But this kind of love I have felt the past few days is on another level.
Time to yourself reminds you of your greatest relationship.
It’s easy for me to forget sometimes how important my relationship is with myself and my faith.
Sometimes it takes forced time to slow down literally laying in bed to recenter.
I think it’s human nature to look outside yourself for comfort and reassurance when life is uncertain.
When something happens I’ve caught myself wanting to call my sister, my mom, or a friend. I want them to say on the other end that everything will be ok.
But the truth is, this time was different.
I found myself sitting feeling sick and asking God for strength and healing in the days ahead.
It was more about choosing first to look inward and then upward with my concerns rather than outward for reassurance.
A lot of how well (or not well) we deal with difficulties in life largely depends on the relationship we have with ourselves.
Reframing what this moment could teach me changed my mindset.
As soon as I found out I had Covid, my initial reaction was panic.
I have been vaccinated and boosted, but this was the first time in our home any of us had tested positive for this illness.
My biggest fear was a psychological one — being physically separated from those I loved.
Then in truth, I thought to myself, “What if there is something for me to gain here instead of staying focused on why this is happening to me?”
It changed my entire outlook.
The fear melted away the more I focused on how I could use this time to rest and learn more about myself.
I found myself putting more faith in God over something I couldn’t control.
I’m fortunate the illness just left me feverish for a few days and feeling congested. It allowed me to still muster enough energy to read, write, and pray about what was happening.
Final Thoughts
No one wants to be sick.
Everyone has their struggles and personal ways of dealing with stressful times.
This moment reminded me how much I’m loved.
It gave me a chance to be in tune with myself, and it revealed to me there were things about myself I could continue to learn.
—
This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
***
From The Good Men Project on Medium
What Does Being in Love and Loving Someone Really Mean? | My 9-Year-Old Accidentally Explained Why His Mom Divorced Me | The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex | The Internal Struggle Men Battle in Silence |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit: Shutterstock