COVID-19 & FOMO (fear of missing out)
By Mrs. Shafer
When was the last time you were disappointed? Felt defeated or even hopeless? In Psalm 13—David expressed it well. He did not understand many of the situations God called him to, yet he wasn’t afraid to express it to his God or to question God.
One disappointment that was particularly challenging for me happened only a few weeks ago. Our team had planned to go to an education technology conference together—NSA team members who do not get to see each other very often. This was the first time, in real life, where we could laugh and be together in over two years. We talk to each other, almost daily, online. But we were so looking forward to being together in person! I was also really excited to celebrate my birthday with our team in person! We all work remotely across the Northern Hemisphere, and being together is rare. I was hopeful and excited for our trip because I knew it would be an incredible time of fun and celebration.
Right before it was time to leave, I started to feel unwell. Since March 2020 (23 months!), I have been one of the few people to have escaped a positive Covid-19 test result. However, seven days before we were supposed to spend a glorious week together at the conference, I tested positive for Covid-19. This was a huge disappointment. I knew that all of the team members were going to be together, having so much fun, and I was going to miss out. Those feelings were quick to flood my mind when I opened my phone and saw a group picture of the team smiling upon their arrival at the conference. You know what my response was? I threw my cell phone across the room in frustration! I felt sorry for myself and questioned God’s timing. Why couldn’t I be there with my team? FOMO was so real for me. I turned it inwards and looked only at myself and what I would be missing instead of what the team could gain that week.
I started asking God why.
And then I paused.
I knew I needed to do some holy listening.
How do you listen to the Holy Spirit when you're facing disappointment, heartbreak, illness or anger? It is hard. Once I realized I was absorbed in my feelings and leaning on my own understanding, I turned to Scripture.
Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to trust God and submit to Him and He will make our paths straight. Listening and submitting to the Lord in the middle of disappointment is not easy, but Scripture gave me the loving reminder I needed: We can trust God’s ways are always best. Because I listened, I was able to understand that God knew I needed a week to sit and rest with Him and to trust that He could take care of the team without me. This is His school and His team, and He mapped out the week exactly as it needed to be. So, when I received a picture of the team celebrating my birthday, I was able to view it with joy instead of disappointment.
The next time we are facing something really hard, let’s take a lesson from David. We can cry out to God and question Him, but always come back to the certainty that God can be trusted and is worthy of our praise. Even when we do not get an immediate answer or even when we cannot see around the corner, He is able to carry us and direct our next steps. We can choose to praise the Lord, even in disappointment.
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