Dear one,
In two recent conversations—one with VMG, a seminary professor, marriage counselor, and PhD student living in India; the other with KJH, a ThM student, studying and ministering in Manila—the coronavirus was central to our conversations.
From my conversation with VMG, I sensed that Indians were fearful, their fear exacerbated by a tendency to hide. For instance, VMG related that three who live in a nearby region, had been to Italy and had contracted the virus, but upon their return to India, had not disclosed, or had not been asked regarding their travels. As a consequence, soon thereafter they attended a wedding, thus infecting those at the wedding and beyond.
From my conversation with KJH, I heard his concern for many Filipinos, Koreans, and Chinese, all of whom, live so closely together, but with few resources to counter the virus. Disinfectants and hand-gels are in short supply; masks are even more scarce; and only one hospital in Manila (whose population is approximately 1.78 million in a metropolitan area of 12.8 million) had “the kit” available. Moreover, KJH expressed concern for those in North Korea, who have been “cut-off” from China, whereby their poverty has been compounded.
In both of these conversations, I sensed that we might do well to consider the words of Psalm 103:
“[The] LORD has compassion for those who fear him—for he knows how we are made.
[Our] days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone … But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 103:13-17).
VMG’s response to these words was hope-filled: “He knows me. He knows my frame—how I was made. He knows that it takes very little—next to nothing to bring me low. And yet, His steadfast love for me is sure—always.”
KJH’s response was equally hopeful: “He is sovereign and compassionate. Although we are like the flower, He cherishes us. And because of His steadfast love, this is an opportunity for us to share His love: to provide for others what they have not. Daily I pray for the Philippines, Korea, China, and the US.”
Apart from the coronavirus, I believed that VMG and KJH might do well to ponder a portion of Psalm 103; and with that, it was good for them to remember that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139), and therefore, that we do well “to count our days” (Psalm 90).
Hopefully,
Stan