Daly Focus Blog
A couple of months ago your schedule was probably a lot like mine: full. The faucet was all the way open, and there wasn’t much free time between work, family, marriage, church, school activities, music recitals, and sports practice.
Then, all of that ground to a halt. Overnight. And just like that your entire family was at home together, not for a few hours or a few days, but for weeks. Maybe at some point you even awoke to your own personal Groundhog Day.
As all but a handful of states begin the long and careful process of reopening their economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, strong opinions abound on both sides of the aisle.
Prudence dictated widespread closures early in the crisis, especially given the horrific death toll projections. But as the economy has cratered resulting in over 36 million people out of work, a rising suicide rate and the deaths of people who are forgoing healthcare out of fear of leaving their homes, it makes good sense to find our way forward in a responsible and measured manner.
Fear over the
coronavirus continues to grip people. I have a family member who calls my wife
every few days expressing her uncertainty about where our country goes from
here and how we protect ourselves. Her concerns are not unreasonable, but it’s
clear that her questions are driven by fear and anxiety.
Fear is
contagious, and children are especially susceptible. So are Christian moms and
dads who wish to instill their children with faith.
What can
you do?
The coronavirus pandemic and subsequent quarantines and lockdown orders have posed substantial challenges for everyone – especially not being permitted to worship together in person with fellow believers.
But according to a recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, the pandemic has actually caused faith to grow.
Imagine that – God using a tough time for good!
The poll found that almost one-quarter (24%) of U.S. adults say their faith has become stronger because of the coronavirus pandemic.
On today’s Focus on the Family Broadcast, I have the pleasure of talking with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar.
It might surprise you that with a budget of $1.4 trillion dollars, the HHS is the largest cabinet department on earth. If it were a country, it would be only behind the United States, China, Japan, Germany and France.
Given the programs and responsibilities entrusted to Secretary Azar, including Medicare, Medicaid and the Food and Drug Administration, the department’s work is vital – and especially in the age of the coronavirus global pandemic.
Hopefully,
the silver lining for you around the coronavirus pandemic has been the
opportunity to spend more time together as a couple.
Then
again, maybe being around each other 24/7 has increased your disagreements and created
new topics to argue about.
There’s no
doubt that living in close quarters for a long time can reveal areas of your
marriage that could use some work. But it also creates an opportunity to put Luke
10:27 into practice.
With much
of the country weeks into a lockdown, calls to the National Mental Health
Hotline have increased by almost 900 percent.
The
uncertainty of these times is resulting in a steep rise in anxiety and
depression. For many, social distancing has turned into social isolation. Some
have turned away from people and toward food, alcohol, online shopping, and
pornography. Others are suffering from racing thoughts, sleepless nights, and irritability.
It becomes
a trap. When we’re anxious and fearful, we can’t concentrate, our creativity
and productivity go down, and it’s hard to see options.
Should God receive credit for the turning of the tide of the coronavirus global pandemic?
Not according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Speaking earlier this week, the Empire State’s chief executive, who is Catholic, was blunt:
“The number is down because we brought the number down,” he told reporters. “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that…That’s how it works. It’s math.
Words matter.
Every year contains its share of popular terms and catch phrases, words uttered and written so often that they become part of the national vernacular. In the build-up to President Donald Trump’s impeachment in 2019, it was “quid pro quo” – a Latin phrase that means, basically, a favor for a favor.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, everyone from the president of the United States down to local community leaders have made “social distancing” the latest household phrase, and with the very best of intentions.
Since the outbreak and escalation of the coronavirus pandemic in March, pastors and faith leaders throughout the United States have cooperated with local and state officials in doing their part to “flatten the curve” of the pathogen by either canceling or transitioning in-person church services to online platforms.
For anyone born over the course of the last one-hundred years, the changes in weekly worship habits have been unprecedented. In fact, church services during the Spanish flu epidemic between 1918 and 1920 carried on as usual – for good or bad.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
