Last Friday, I was in the middle of dinner when I realized, “I have a fever!” Like any good American, I immediately googled Covid symptoms. I had:
Fever.
Dry cough.
Fatigue.
Chills.
Sore throat.
Headache.
Purple toes.
(There are other symptoms I didn’t have, but nobody gets all of them, right? That wouldn’t be fair.)
And I’d already hugged Jenna today! What if … ?
Quick! See if you can smell and taste! I stuck my nose into the garlic bread. Smells like garlic. Tastes like garlic. Whew!
I looked at the calendar: where have I been in the last 6 to 14 days? Um, mostly nowhere. And never unmasked or un-distanced. Yet …
Okay, Pam. Get a grip. To be fair, fatigue is an old, constant friend. The cough is probably allergies. For the rest, well, the only thing to do is to take some Tylenol and go to bed. At 6 PM. And sleep around the clock.
So I did. But before I slept, I sniffed the hand lotion: and definitely smelled peppermint. Okay. I relaxed.
As I was falling asleep I thought, “if I have Covid, there is nothing I can do.
If I don’t have it, there is nothing I need to do.”
Saturday was better. No fever, chills, sore throat, headache or purple toes. By Sunday everything but the fatigue was gone. I can live with that.
Actually, I do live with that!
I don’t think I have Covid. I don’t even think I have asymptomatic Covid. It could be one of the other 300+ human viruses, or nothing at all. I may never know.
But up against those “unknowns,” I put a definite “known:”
The Lord is good. When people are in trouble,
they can go to him for safety.
He takes good care of those who trust in him.
Nahum 1:7 New International Reader’s Version
So, Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. 1 Peter 5:6-8 Living Bible
This will surely not be the last scare. Tomorrow there may be terrifying new scares. But God is more than sovereign over that scary stuff – and He more than watches over me.