I got a call last night from my Mama Rosa, my mom’s sister (I call my aunts from my mom’s side “mama”). It was a pleasant surprise as she lives in New York and especially after seeing news online how the US is currently implementing community quarantine. As we catch up with how each of us have been these past few days, especially with our current global situation, one of her stories caught my attention…

Mama Rosa shared with me her prayer during this Covid-19 scare…

If this is a test Lord, I pray I pass.

We all have been praying about the pandemic. Some prayers are for their family’s protection, some are for their provision, while some are for healing and for the Covid-19 to miraculously disappear. While there are so many prayers being prayed worldwide — from protection to healing to winning against the virus — these are said because of fear…

Fear can be good. It shatters complacency… and while it’s easy for me to say these, I also admit that I too have fears…and a sense of urgency. It has been scary these past months, and we can feel it more here in the Philippines. We can’t see this enemy, and we don’t know when it will hit us but here’s the thing that keeps on going on in my head…we also have an INVISIBLE GOD!

Invisible not because he can’t be seen but because…

• He made all good things that surround us
• He created this world
• …and He won against death through Christ

With that in my mind amidst the fear I also feel for my family and even myself, I have to admit, the thought that God continues to be God has made me fear not being able to maximize my quarantine time more productively and efficiently…

I fear more the consequences if I would waste this opportunity to just stay at home.
I fear more the lost opportunities I could have in the future if I didn’t move and prepare for it today…

I fear more losing this moment of doing what I have always wanted to do if given more time to do it…

…an opportune time…

What if we see this situation as an “opportune” time?

Mama Rosa’s prayer reminded me of how everything we do here on earth is a test. Rick Warren on one of his videos shared how what we have now on earth is a test — whether it may be difficulty or comfort. It prepares us for what is to come in eternity.

The Bible reminds us that…

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…

Luke 16:10

We only have 30 days of enhanced community quarantine. We only have 30 days to help our front-liners to flatten the curve of the virus. We only have 30 days wait and see for potential solutions… and we only have 30 days to rest in our homes, spend time with family, do the cleaning we need at home, sort out items that needs to be thrown or given, pray and discover more about ourselves as we face this situation.

It’s okay to be scared, but if this is a test from the Lord, I hope I pass it too…