We had watched a new virus take over our continent and prayed it would not come near our house. It didn’t seem so much a question of if it would come, but when. My prayer was, “Lord, hold us. Keep us. Watch over us and give us your peace.”

The day after I was diagnosed with COVID-19, I woke up struggling to breathe, having just dreamt of a lion pacing around our house, protecting us from whatever lurked outside.

When I had stabbing pains in my lungs and my knee-jerk was to worry how my asthmatic kids would do with the virus, I heard, “Laurie, which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?”

I responded, “Lord, hold us. Hold my children. And help me walk in your peace.”

A few weeks later, I quickly packed a bag for my oldest before my husband took her to the ER. 

She asked, “Mom, why are you sending extra clothes with me?” 

I responded, “Because I don’t know how long you’ll have to stay and when you’ll come home.”

As I held the tears inside my face, I thought to myself, “I don’t even know if you’ll come home.”

Then I heard, “I am with her. I am also with you.”

“Lord, hold me. Hold my daughter. Help me walk in your peace.”

Later that night, with our oldest back home and all the kids tucked into bed, my husband and I reflected on the day. 

He asked, “Are we in denial or are we really doing pretty okay?”

I responded, “I just feel held. I know in my mind that this is scary. I know this is serious. I imagine we’ll have processing to do later. But right now, I feel surrounded and held by the presence of God.”

We hear that God’s grace is enough and he is always with us. We build our faith when we remember the times God met us and carried us through the storm. I am here to testify that personally, in my many and turbulent storms, the Peace of Christ has been palpable. 

Before we went to bed, there was a prayer, “Lord, thank you. Thank you for watching over us. Thank you that we can all be back together tonight. And thank you for keeping each of us in your peace.”