Battling Fear by Counting Blessings

I live in Michigan. And although Michigan is currently the state with the third highest number of coronavirus cases, my small community of Midland in the center of the state has only fifteen cases (as of the Friday of posting this).

While we are relatively safe and sheltering at home, like
everyone else we have to go out for groceries and necessities from time to time.
One of my daughters is a physical therapy assistant and so comes into contact
with people who must still have physical therapy. My husband is a mental health
therapist and also still has a few in-person appointments with clients in
crisis (although the majority of his sessions are now via telehealth).

All that to say, my family is living with the reality that we aren’t immune from catching covid19. In truth, most of probably worry to some degree or another about being exposed to and coming down with the virus. There’s an undeniable sense of anxiety and fear permeating our lives right now.

While some of the fear can be healthy and prompt us to
follow guidelines more carefully, some fear can become debilitating resulting
in migraines, panic attacks, insomnia, and more. I personally suffer with
problems of insomnia and migraines during stressful times. As I’ve gotten
older, those particular problems have intensified.

But, thankfully, as I’ve gotten older, God’s presence in my
life has also intensified. One way he’s been at work in me over the past couple
of years has been through my developing the practice of giving thanks in all
circumstances. The habit started after reading Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. I decided to keep a
personal journal of 1000 gifts. I’m currently on my third 1000 gifts journal
and going strong.

This simple practice has changed my life, particularly my perspective during the hardest of times. It’s when I’m at my lowest, when fear sneaks in, when I can’t sleep, when the headaches throb that my give-thanks-in-all-circumstances habit holds me in good stead. Rather than dwelling on the negative, I’ve trained myself to look for the blessings.

During these scary days when the coronavirus has flipped our world upside down, I’m on the lookout for blessings—the beauty among the ashes. I’m writing them down in my journal. And I’m also trying to keep a photo record (and posting some of my pictures on Instagram). This week, these are a few of the blessings I shared:

#StayHome #Blessing1 Thankful for having my college daughters home and getting to eat their excellent cooking! #covid19



#StayHome #Blessing2 Thankful we could still celebrate my mom’s birthday. While not able to shop, we were able to order a few presents. Instead of blowing out candles we snuffed them. #covid19




#StayHome #Blessing3 Thankful for online church and getting to worship together as a family! #covid19

What are YOUR blessings during these scary days of battling the coronavirus?