A couple of weeks back I talked about our church pausing in person ministry not our government. Maybe it’s time to do it again. I am very not fine.
A post borrowed from Brody Jespersen’s FB page. I thought it was worth sharing with you. Brody is the associate pastor at Sherwood Park Alliance. His are the words I would use in leading a church through COVID. The 1100 post likes seem to indicate there are few others who appreciate his perspective.
I Am Very Not Fine
I’ve been quiet lately but not because I’m been dreaming up my next rhetoric, the reason being is because on April 18 I contacted a variant case of Covid-19 that my wife brought home for me! Thanks babe.
In all seriousness. She is doing just fine and our kids 3/3 also positive are also doing just fine.
However. I. Am. Very. Not. Fine.
After 12 days of being the sickest I have ever been in my entire life I woke up yesterday feeling like it was starting to get harder to breathe. Breathing wasn’t an issue for me for the long 11 first days. I was fever and aches and uncontrollable chills and a splintering headache that wouldn’t let up and the lost taste snd smell. And after fighting it all for 11 days from home we finally decided it was time we have some intervention.
Let Me Say a Couple of Things
For those of you who think this is nothing but the flu, you are so sorely mistaken. Sure. Some people get an experience LIKE the flu, but some, many, don’t. They get much much worse.
When I was laid up in my first hospital bed of the day I described to my Dr that it felt like someone was driving their knee right into the top of my chest and crushing my lungs. It was bad.
Saying this is the flu is your sad attempt at trying to justify your civil dishonor. “It’s just the flu, so I don’t have to wear a mask, or wash my hands, or get a vaccine… it’s just the flu.” You are just so wrong. And until you have an MD behind your social media persona I’d suggest you dig a little deeper past the fake news.
Not The Flu
Last time I I had the flu I didn’t need oxygen to keep breathing. The last time I had the flu the dr didn’t feel the need to ask me “if this turns snd I have to get you to ICU are you giving me permission to perform chest compressions in an attempt to save your life? I’m 36 years old and healthy with no other underlying medical concerns and here I am in my second hospital bed after an ambulance trip to the Misercordia Hospital in Edmonton.
I have Covid pneumonia and am not sure how long I will be here.
Secondly thing is this – can we cut the nonsense of this being about some sort of conspiracy? Like literally, the only conspiracy the government is after is to keep me and you alive. And I for one am all over letting them help in the ways they can. Life is sacred, it is a gift and the sanctity that our officials are treating it with lines up with the bible I read.
I’m in a slow process battle. And could be for a while. But don’t worry about me. I cherish my wife Jodie who served and loved me so faithfully and tirelessly at home while I could barely wake for more than a couple hours a day. She held it all together with sick kids and I am blessed to have her.
Three Things
Last thing is this and I’ll make it 3-parter cause I am a pastor and pastors are like that.
- Wear the mask. It’s not for your protection but everyone else’s. You are a literal superhero with it on, it’s your cape that wraps around your ears and over your face. Wearing it tells the world around you that you care about not getting others sick. We are deep in this 3rd wave and we need hero’s.
- Pray for our healthcare workers. They are the the actual superhero’s in all of this. My nurse today told me she does not even get to see her kids when she works these shifts because she doesn’t want to risk transferring the virus home. She sacrifices and they sacrifice so that I can find life…sounds sorta familiar.
- Get your vaccine. For the love of all that is good and Holy, get the vaccine. It is not going to hurt you, it is going to save your life and the live’s of others around you that you won’t infect. The sooner we get immunity the sooner we can go back to some of the way it was, but that is going to require a concentrated partnership of us all saying “I’m willing to stand in the gap”. Trust me, you don’t want to earn your immunity the hard way like I have been (which for the record I will still also be getting the vaccine when I can). But what about the blood clots?!?! I had to take a CT scan my first night because my samples showed high that a clot could have formed. A WAY MORE LIKELY WAY TO GET A BLOOD CLOT! Luckily I’m clear. But get the poke, doesn’t matter which one. Just get er done.
Peace and love my friends. Thanks for all your support and care over these weeks.
It’s time to do it again – join the conversation and leave a comment at the bottom of this post.
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Powerful. Thank you.
Hi PB. Thanks for letting us know how Brody and his family are doing. He has gone through something that I do not want to see anyone that I love have to go through – which means I don’t want to see ANYONE have to go through that! Christ called his people to show love to everyone, as much as it is in our power to do so.
I hear other people around me making the claims about this pandemic that Pastor Jesperson refers to – “I don’t need to wear a mask” “I don’t need to physically distance” “I don’t need the vaccine”, and as a Christian I am so disheartened by this. Christ calls us to love others. Period. I show my love to others by doing my best to follow the guidelines set forth by the AHS. Do I like it? No! Do I wish it were different? Absolutely!! But my heart is to do whatever is within my power to put others before myself. Does this mean I do not have enough faith that God will protect me from this virus? Of course not. I also have faith that if I jumped off a bridge that God could save me if he so chose. But I will not put my Lord to the test. He gave me the gift of reasonable thought, and it is my responsibility to use it. God gifted many of his people in the art of science, research, and medicine, and I will prayerfully follow the advise given at this time, and I will adjust my behaviours accordingly as more is learned, so long as it does not contradict what God has instructed for His people.
I will be praying for the Jesperson family, and will continue to pray for those in our health care system. Thank God for them!
Hi Carla. Thank you for joining the conversation and for your honesty about your feelings. There are some things all of us do, not because we like to do them, but as you say, they are for the good of others. As Christians we talk about taking up pour cross and following Jesus. I fear those words are so familiar that we miss their power. If come followers can’t wear a mask, I wonder if they have the capacity to carry a cross? I reflect on my life as a pastor and wonder if I helped people become more of a church goer and not as much as a disciple. People are way more interested in what we are doing for the community than in our worship services. A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do.
Thank you for sharing, and yes if only people would abide the law, God bless you and your family, prayers, for you and your family. For a speedy recovery…..Jim and Susan
I know what you are going through as for my husband had Covid-19 in Oct. and he ended up on a Ventalator but with people Praying all over the world he pulled through
And on the 29th we are both going to get our Vaccine
Stay Strong you will pull through
I have rescheduled my vaccination appointment 5 times in doubt that it would save me, thinking it would only harm me. Pastors’ story has given me hope and more understanding on what needs to happen….. I will be sure to go in and get my vaccination while praying for the sick. Thank you for sharing.