Looking Back

The body of this poem was written over six weeks ago.  I just found it in my notes and thought God could use it to bring hope to others being affected by this disease. --Jim

"An inconvenient Christmas" it has been called.  As Debby & I sit and reflect upon the past few months, we marvel at the grace of God, the generosity of strangers, and the miracles that never seem to end!

Christmastide is in full swing!
Plans have all been made.
Packages beneath the tree,
(almost fully-paid!)
Our son and his great family
here to enjoy it all;
festivities are happening,
and then...we get a call!
It is our daughter.  She has tested
positive this time!
For such to happen only now,
it almost seems a crime!
The pain inside her voice reveals
that she is all but 'well!'
We've planned this for very long,
now it seems shot to hell!
Our son and daughter and the grandkids
finally get to town.
The first thing that he does is test
himself as he sits down.

Our daughter calls.  She is in tears
about what she has caught.
She cannot make it into town,
and she is quite distraught!
A time that is supposed to be
'together' with love and gifts;
so very little can she find
that encourages and uplifts!
We talk with her, then we enjoy
our son and family;
yet, all the while, upon our hearts
is Vicki where she be!

As the evening ends, we rush
and obtain the tests that show
that, in our bodies, so resides
THAT virus we all know!

Looking back upon it all, we thought that COVID would be gone by now.  Rather, it seems to regenerate itself into variants.  So what do we do?  Stop living?  NO!  We lean further into Him Who gives us life in the first place!!  For it is God alone that sees the end from the beginning, and it is ONLY Him that will get us through this!
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