By Liz Newman 
It’s crazy to think about how drastically our lives have changed in such a short amount of time. A pandemic has filled our hearts with anxiety as it brings about uncertainty and fear for public health and for our futures. Stores are out of toilet paper. Kids are out of school. People are out of work.
And most of us are out of answers.
Nobody knows what the right thing to do is. No one can say for sure how long this will all last. But, everybody is scared. We need each other now more than ever. We need to remember our humanity, remember grace, and remember compassion. We need to be gentle with one another as we all process what this means for us and all of the ways it is impacting our lives, big and small. We need to lean on each other and encourage one another.
And, we need to pray for each other.
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Pray for the immunocompromised and the people with multiple illnesses who are at the highest risk of contracting this disease. Pray for anyone who is extra worried about a friend or a loved one who they know is more vulnerable at this time.
Pray for the healthcare workers who are going to work every day to serve their communities and continue to care for their patients, regardless of the exposure risks for them. They are just as scared as the rest of us, but they are putting another’s health before their own.
Pray for all of the people who are temporarily out of work because businesses are shutting down for the health and safety of others.
Pray for everyone whose work is still open as they do their best to practice caution while being expected to carry on with their normal day to day routines.
Pray for everyone who is in quarantine or who is social distancing to keep others safe, even though they may feel scared and lonely.
Pray for all of the kids who are out of school and missing their friends and their routines.
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Pray for the people who have had to cancel weddings, vacations, birthday parties, and trips to see family because of wanting to honor social distancing.
Pray for the elderly who live alone and may be uneasy about leaving their homes, even if they need groceries. Pray for the elderly who live in nursing homes who can’t have any visitors due to exposure risks.
Pray for the parents who are feeling overwhelmed figuring out how to best facilitate their children’s educations while schools are shut down. Pray for parents whose children may have really needed the tools and therapies a school environment helped provide.
Pray for anyone who is experiencing higher levels of anxiety or tension because of the amount of uncertainty in their lives right now.
Pray for the women who are pregnant or who have small children and are trying their best to read up on the safety guidelines to keep their family out of harm’s way.
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Pray for eyes that continue to see people in their pain and look for those who might need encouragement as the reality of the situation changes from day to day for different people.
Pray for the world, for everyone who is feeling the effect of the pandemic so deeply, and in so many different ways.
Pray for each other.
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