Good Morning Gorgeous,

It’s a brand new day. A fresh start. A new day to rise and rush into the arms of a living Savior!

I woke up at 1am because Maxwell wanted out.

And then got up with him again at 5:00am. I had a little prayer time and reading the bible. This was the beginning of the sunrise this morning. God paints a brand new one every morning.

The plan I’m in has me reading Isaiah. Isaiah is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament. There are so many promises and prophecy, even the birth of Jesus is foretold in this precious book. Here is a beautiful scripture that I read this morning.

I thought my day would begin and I would have my post up early today, but one of the twins got up too. So as I put him back to sleep, I fell asleep right alongside of him. That luxury won’t last long. Teachers in Lee County report back to work in 2 weeks, so very soon there will no be falling back to sleep on a Monday morning.

As we plan for the return to school, emotions are high. Some families, teachers, and community members are fearful. Some are angry. Some are really good planners and they are in overdrive putting extra precautions in place to protect themselves and their precious students.

And every response, every emotion, every concern is valid. No matter how one responds to trauma, their feelings and their emotions need to be heard and validated. We all have a wide variety of backgrounds, risk factors, and family situations, so empathy for every person right now is much needed.

And I write about teaching specifically because that’s my field. And through teaching, I will experience what many people who returned to work months ago or who were essential and never stopped working have already experienced.

I will experience a return to work that looks anything but, “normal”. I will learn alongside my fellow teachers and students how to accomplish as much of the same tasks as before as possible while also incorporating social distancing, protective gear, masks, new procedures, new protocols, new things to report and document, new trainings, etc.

And all of those things are a reminder that things are NOT back to normal and they send a message to the brain that tells it, “I am not safe.”

We will navigate and work through all of these things, but my prayer today is for an end to this pandemic.

The things I shared regarding teaching are just one aspect of this virus.

The bigger picture is that people are getting sick, really sick. And people across the globe have died. People have lost the ones they cherished.

It is starting to hit home here in Florida. My new start to my day includes praying by name for friends who are ill and fighting this virus. I pause throughout the day and lift them up again and again. My neighbor has been in the hospital for 15 days on a ventilator. He shows improvement some days and then new challenges arise. This is a friend that I have laughed with, prayed with, talked to while the kids ride their bikes, and my kids adore. This is a real person. A real face. And it hurts. Covid now has a face for me.

And more than one face. I have friends and colleagues who are ill or are recovering. And I keep praying, keep watching for updates that the turn has happened and now they are recovering.

And I also have a family member that I don’t know very well who has been sick. I have continually lifted her up in prayer for recovery. She has been in the recovery phase for months, and is struggling to get better even after the virus has left her body.

There is a TALL order for prayer when it comes to Covid. It can be overwhelming. Where do we start? It has affected literally every area of our lives and every business arena: doctors, hospitals, banking, shopping, education, recreation, and churches.

I will share a prayer here, but there are so many prayers needed. This will just be a starting point of conversation with God.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We come before You desperate for a shift in this pandemic. We are in need of a miracle straight from heaven. Many of the great miracles in the bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament, they were preceded by a person or a group of people humbly turning to You for a mighty move. And again and again You faithfully healed, restored, triumphed, and moved on behalf of the people who called on Your Name for help.

We call on You today for a healing that can only come from You. Touch our land and bind up this sickness and make it flee in the name of Jesus.

We pray for the tide to turn on coronavirus, and the sea to split so that humanity can walk free on dry land.

Heal those struggling today with this virus. Touch them with healing and restore their bodies back to health and strength. Lord, give their family and friends a fresh dose of comfort and new strength to pray for a miracle.

Lord, draw people close to You with a fresh revelation that You are Lord and You are working even when we can’t see it.

Give us abundant doses of peace amidst the storm. Show us when to move and when to be still.

Teach us empathy for others. Teach us to listen more than we speak. Teach us to boldly believe that there is good ahead.

Teach us to stand firm on the promises in Your Word despite every else being shaken. Teach us to learn how to battle this virus and every other struggle that we face in the spiritual realm first. Teach us to get before You and pray so that heaven’s order can come into the earth and bring order to the chaos of the day.

Lord, shift us so that we can be a people who speak hope again. As Pastor Ryan from Life Church says, “Let us believers be brokers of hope.”

Let us be beacons of light who respond to the pandemic like Jesus would rather than how the world responds. Let our response be markedly and obviously different. Let our prayers be fervent and filled with faith.

Lord, as we turn and repent and humbly pray, heal our land. Heal our people. Break off the virus and all of its oppressive effects. Draw us forward and ahead and into a healed tomorrow.

Let the church boldly stand in prayer and faithfully expect a mighty touch from You that will restore and change the current course of destruction.

Lord, shift the atmosphere and let faith arise. Such a bold loud cry from the followers of Jesus Christ that it shakes the heavens and triumphs over darkness in the spiritual realm. Lord, through the fervent prayers of Your people, send tidal waves of healing that break off the virus, cleanse the painful effects, restores bodies to full strength, and renew our faith in You.

We trust in You. We know that You are holding us. We recognize that You are in control and You hear every prayer.

Lord, we need Your healing touch to blow across the land and completely restore us.

In Jesus’s mighty and powerful name, Amen.