Welcome to my world–the life of a medically fragile child in the midst of a pandemic.

Dear World,

Welcome to my world. I feel your pain and your worry and your sadness. I feel your grief. I understand more than you even know. Your world has been turned upside down. Nothing really makes sense anymore. Routines have been changed. You aren’t quite sure what the future looks like anymore.

Suddenly everyone you know, is a danger. People you don’t know are a danger. Going to the store is a danger. You are more aware of germs than ever before. You are scared to go out, scared to see friends. Scared to let go.

Control has become your new normal. If you can’t control it you are terrified of it. The uncertainty . You are frozen in place. Sticking to routines, new routines. Routines you aren’t used. Making things up as you go.

Control. Trying to control what you can. Every little detail. Making sure your kids don’t remember the uncertainty or the disruption but only remember the fun. The laughter. The extra time with mom and dad.

Or maybe. Just maybe you don’t get to stay at home, safe in your bubble. Maybe you are “essential” or maybe you don’t have a choice if your family wants to eat. So you go to work, with fear of what you could be exposed to, what you could bring home to your family.

The anxiety of the unknown has eaten at you.

Friend, I have been there. I have lived this life, long before it was your reality. Let me tell you something.

It gets better. You adjust. You make new plans. Find new routines. Find a new normal. You learn to enjoy the little things. To not take life for granted. To not judge others for their decisions. Remember we are all just trying to get by, doing the best we can with what we have. We are all just surviving.

FRIEND, Let me tell you the best part.

You can do more than just survive.

You can thrive.

There isn’t some magic secret.

It’s really simple. You move on. You find you new normal and you go on.

You have to move on. You have to get up. Put one foot in front of the other and move. It will be okay. It may not be okay right now, but it will be one day. You have to find your new normal, and accept it.

No, its not always pretty and it’s not always what you want. But there is beauty in letting God work. In letting God take control. Letting him show you what he needs to show you.

There is beauty in the chaos.

Three years ago, my life turned upside down. Suddenly everyday normal things were a threat to my families survival. For 1,193 days I have lived with the very real threat the most normal things could cost my daughter her life. Too much stimulus, too much noise, lack of sleep, too much stress, school, a playground fall, the common cold, a fever, even just random chance. All of these things were a threat to my daughter. They still are. Even more so now.

Friend, I know. I’ve been there. Let me tell you, the view is much better once you let go of that control. Of that fear that if you don’t have it all together it will all fall apart.

God has it all together. The pieces may not make sense right now, but weeks, months, and years from now you will start to be able to piece the puzzle together; and little by little you will start to be able to see just how God was moving.

I won’t tell you it’s easy. It may be the hardest thing you ever have to do. I won’t even tell you that the fear goes away. It stays. It’s there in the back of your mind. However, once you accept it the new normal, the fear doesn’t control you anymore.

Once you stop giving fear that control. You can truly enjoy the change. Because believe me there are good things happening in the change. You just have to look. You have to let go of your control to see them.

Friend, it is possible to come out of this season better than when you entered it. It’s possible that this could be one of the better things to happen to you. It is possible to live with a peace beyond reason in this scary time.

I tell you it’s possible. Because I know. Because I have lived it. I am living it. I will continue to live it. Long after your worries are over, long after this season has passed. My fears will still remain. And I will remain at ease. I will continue to choose peace over fear. You will too. When the next crisis comes, and it will. You will choose peace over fear. You are stronger than you know. Stronger than your fear.

So welcome to my world. I am so incredibly thankful that you are only having to experience this fear temporarily. While, I hate that you have had to experience this fear, this uncertainty. I am so thankful that you also understand a little bit better of what its like to be me, the parent of a medically fragile child.