The lessons Covid19 has taught me...

2020 and the past 8 months of 2021 have changed my way of thinking and my priorities completely, I no longer desire the things I used to.

When my husband battled Covid19 in January 2021 it was one of the scariest and challenging times of our lives, I felt so helpless seeing him suffer. Then in July my sister, my mom, my son and I got infected, my son had no symptoms but I have never felt so ill in my entire life. I had a fever, body aches, dizziness, throbbing head aches and severe fatigue, I also lost my taste and smell. It was really tough being sick but even worse was knowing my mom was very ill and not being able to see her or take care of her. Thank God for my loving husband who took care of me and my aunt who took care of my mom. I am truly grateful to God that all of us recovered from the virus and going through that experience taught me a lot.

The lessons I learned are:

• Loving God and loving people must be our priority.
• Do not take your health for granted.
• Life is fleeting, be grateful for every moment.
• Emotions are normal, it's okay not be okay.

During my two weeks in quarantine I was thinking about my loved ones and how I miss spending time with them. I was thinking of family get-togethers, walks on the beach and romantic moments with my husband. I was thinking of running races with my running family, hanging out with my friends, going to church and fellowshipping with other believers. I did not think of petty arguments, disagreements with loved ones or material things. I also thought about people who don't have loved ones, people who are lonely and battling this virus on their own. I felt helpless, scared and I was not okay, I prayed a lot, I prayed for my loved ones, I prayed for friends and family and I prayed for strangers. I learned that it's okay not to feel positive all the time and that we must turn to God when we are feeling down.

This experience taught me that God and people are the most important things in this life, our focus should be on loving God and loving people. Let's have empathy for others and lend a helping hand where we can. Let's appreciate every precious moment while we are on this earth and count our blessings because tomorrow is not promised.

And let's continue to pray for one another, our country and let's pray for this pandemic to come to an end...