I was in the kitchen when my phone suddenly started making the Emergency Alert sound! It startled me because: 1) I didn’t have the TV on and I had only experienced that sound on TV, and 2) I didn’t think the weather was going to be bad at all, so then why the alarm? Just as I was thinking, the announcement began -- telling us that we needed to stay at home and only go out if necessary! Even though I know both our Governor and the Mayor have been telling us this was coming, and even though our Bishop has also asked churches to stop all in-person worship, my heart did miss a beat at the announcement! I am sure I am not alone.

I am sure you are feeling the same stress that I am feeling -- caused by the resurgence, the longing to see friends, the uncertainty of this pandemic coming to an end, the beginning of shortened days, and on and on I could go.

But it is not healthy for us to live with that stress, and the truth is it does no one any good, nor does it change anything.  A friend recently shared this story with me, that I am now sharing with you: 

This is a beautiful week -- weather wise. The sun is out, the temperatures have been high enough for us to enjoy the outside for a few more days. I want to focus on that because it feels like everything else is in a state of uncertainty and indecision. Election results are not final yet and COVID is returning even stronger and more aggressive. I feel part of the reason for this strong resurgence might be coming from the fact that many of us have gotten used to the reality and relaxed our guards a little. Regardless, the reality is that Illinois was reported to hit 10,000 COVID deaths yesterday, and a record-breaking 9,900 new COVID cases.