Beautiful Minds…

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth   

 Psalm 121:1-2

Remember way back to 2020? You know, that virus and all? Isn’t it amazing how quickly we can put things in the rear-view mirror? I was recently reading about the 1918 “Spanish Flu” that ravaged the world. There are various estimates of the death toll of that pandemic, but those estimates range from 25-50 million deaths worldwide, and as many as 500 million estimated cases.

I don’t know the real numbers, and we will never really know the full extent of the devastation caused by that influenza strain. Actually, COVID-19 is still with us, and it is working its way through the population, with periodic spikes in cases, but with a generally lower death rate.

The “Spanish Flu”, (inaptly named, but that is a story for another day), is also still with us. Because both of these influenza strains have mutated, they are still prevalent, but much less deadly. Thankfully, there was a vaccine developed to deal with COVID-19, which lowered that death toll to a fraction of that of the “Spanish Flu”.  

We are vulnerable people, and we don’t like to think about that. Rightly so. But there are periodic reminders of that vulnerability that can (hopefully) keep us humble. Remembering where our true hope comes from is the best way to allay anxieties about the next pandemic coming down the line.

Yes, God has given us the ingenuity and brilliance of scientific minds to curb the worst effects of such terrible illnesses, but our real hope is in the Creator of those brilliant minds.

Prayer: Lord, you have given us the gift of life, and ways to preserve it, Amen