Covid 19 Death toll

I saw a buzzard sat in a tree earlier as I drove past. I’m always in awe of birds of prey. I’m always amazed by nature and the things that God shares with me and uses them to speak and to reassure me. I didn’t get to take a photograth of the buzzard but I did get to take this one earlier in the year when on a walk to scatter my mum’s ashes which brought me a sense of God’s peace, so I thought I would share that with you. 

Seeing the buzzard made me think of these verses from Isaiah 40:30-31:

Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Today the death toll in the UK has passed the 100,000 death count with 100,162 deaths. Prime minister, Boris Johnson in today’s Downing Street briefing has called it, ‘an appalling and tragic loss of life’ and stated, ‘I am deeply sorry for every loss of life.’

Living through the pandemic has been hard for everyone. loss of loved ones, lockdown, social distances, compulsory wearing of masks, and a distinct lack of hugs. When will this end? Will the vaccine work again the new deadly variant? When will we be able to have the vaccine? When will we get back to ‘normal’? What will our new normal look like? Where is God in all of this? So many question. 

When tragedies happen sometimes people blame God. When natural disasters happen they are often referred to ‘acts of God’. There is no easy answers as to why bad things happen. This will remain one of life’s mysteries. Life can be good but it can also be cruel and difficult. Maybe there is a randomness as to what is thrown at us? Some of these things are because of our own stupidity or someone else’s stupidity. Sometimes it’s things we could have controlled but often it’s things that are out of our control. Certainly I know that I struggle much more with things I have no control over. Could God make it all better and stop bad things happening? Well he could but that would be more like control, and that’s something that God doesn’t want to do. He has given us free will and free choice as to what we do and indeed wether we want to put our trust in him and believe in him or not. 

One thing that I am sure about is that I would rather continue to face this pandemic and lockdown with putting my hope and faith in God. Do I get angry at him from time to time and frustrated about the state of the world? Yes of course I do. Whatever happens, whether I continue to live through the pandemic and see the other side or wether I don’t, I will continue to draw strength by putting my hope and trust in him. What about you?