When this pandemic is totally put on halt, and all things go back to the way they used to be, will there be anything different in your life? Or is it what it is and everything goes back to the way it used to be? In Canada, COVID-19 has claimed total deaths of more than 22,000 thus far. And in America, more than 550,000 death. Sadly, most of those casualties died alone.  Drifting into eternal rest without so much as the dignity of a familiar face. Life seems to be unpredictable during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is unprecedented in the experience of almost everyone living.

>> So how can we go back to the way it used to be before the pandemic? I recall a story about a man named Peter. Not only was Peter a rich, good and wise man; he was also a family man. In a heartbeat, Peter lost (if not) almost everything – his children, his wealth and even his health to a very agonizing disease. To some, their Covid-19 experience is like Peter’s experience. However, are we also like Peter who found healing by praying during his hardship?

>> In every way imaginable Peter was tried and tested. Nevertheless, he prays instead of becoming aggrieved and resentful. In the end, bounce back, restored and even doubled all he had lost. Covid-19 pandemic is like Peter’s story of suffering and difficulties. Can we really go back to the way it used to be? Going through this pandemic, have we learned anything from it? Can we see that how we used to be could change for the better?

>> Here’s a more serious question: since this pandemic put a halt in your everyday life, who did you turn to. Have you found yourself praying more than before this pandemic took over? Regardless of religion, an emergency situation (such as covid-19) can often lead a person to lean on their faith for support and comfort. There is a saying, “It is for discipline that you have to endure.” Another one is faith and hope.

>> “Everything that happens in this world happens for a reason. There is a time for birth and a time for death, the time for planting and the time for pulling up, the time for killing and the time for healing, the time for tearing down and the time for building. There is a time for sorrow and the time for joy, the time for mourning and the time for dancing. We have an understanding that whenever we are wounded, healing is waiting to turn the situation around. We learn how to grow through it.

>> I have noticed that when our heart is breaking when we seem to lose control of everything, we are finding ourselves praying more? That this pandemic has become the most important time to pray. Our darkest hour is when we most need to turn to pray. I, for one, look forward to a better future: always looking ahead, searching for the silver lining in every grim situation and realizing that the pandemic is helpful in my reflection. I am ever so grateful I as well as my loved ones have been spare from Covid.