Twelve months, three hundred sixty five days.

For most people this is a period of highs and lows with quite a few forgettable moments sandwiched in between. The change of seasons provide opportunities for varying degrees of engagement, often pre-planned but not exempt from spur of the moment pleasure. There’s an expectation that every day won’t be sunshine and laughter but the belief is that the majority will……what happens when your year takes a turn for the worst with no sign of normalcy in the forecast?

Covid-19 wrecked havoc on the lives of many. It wasn’t discriminatory, it didn’t have a preference, it wasn’t favorable of weather conditions nor was it considerate of previously made plans. To be frank, it was hell on earth.

Nearly a million people died as a result of a virus! I feel blessed that my life and that of those nearest and dearest to me were spared but I heavily grieve the loss of too many precious people. Watching the news became depressing, being a healthcare worker caused angst, and the thought of answering an incoming call triggered anxiety attacks. At times I felt like I needed to run away but there was no where to go. Outside, as I knew it, had closed and although the entire country was dealing with the same fate coping wasn’t easy.

While attempting to exist in this new norm of Zoom meetings, mask wearing, social distancing, and hand sanitizer in abundance I was forced to fall back on an old belief, prayer! I prayed for myself and my family / friends, that sickness wouldn’t enter our homes. I prayed for strangers, that their lost of income wouldn’t create financial ruin. I prayed for souls loss, that they’d be welcomed into heaven to sit at the foot of The Most High. I prayed for grieving families unable to come together in celebration of the life their loved one lived. I prayed, I prayed, I prayed……

Throughout this past twelve months, three hundred sixty five days I’ve adjusted to the new norm. The things of new don’t seem impossible anymore and the things of old have found a place in every day practice. My morning starts and my evening ends the same way, in prayer.

I’ve started asking myself if it’s possible that the great states of America, and the rest of the world, forgot the importance of prayer. If maybe our arrogance built by free will had placed us in harms way and we were too filled with modern day beliefs to realize we were headed into catastrophe. Is it possible that we became so busy with meetings and life that we forgot to sit down with family and simply exist?

I loss a cousin in Atlanta from complications of Covid and news of her passing shook me to my core, but not because of her death. I checked my phone to see the last time I text her and found no call log. I checked messenger to see if I had sent her a message and years had passed since our last conversation. I had become too busy to keep in touch with someone that’s no longer here. I had to make peace with that reality, and that was a difficult task.

Covid has been hell but it has also been a great teacher. We can’t do yesterday over and tomorrow isn’t promised so live today as if it is your last. Reach out to that person you haven’t talked to, forgive that person that hurt you, and most importantly make time and take time for yourself, unapologetically!