global pandemic compassion

this coronavirus and covid-19 crisis has hit us in the usa in very personal ways. we know people and families who have it. maybe we know people who have died and the grief that their families have experienced. we all know how it has affected people’s work and the stress of the loss of income because of furloughs and job loss.

these personal experience’s hopefully help us be more compassionate people to others who have and will suffer.

i just read that: “A recent analysis by the WHO found there are less than 5,000 beds in intensive care units available for COVID-19 patients across 43 African nations, which is about five beds per one million people in the reported countries compared to 4,000 beds per one million people in Europe. There are also fewer than 2,000 functional ventilators in public health services across 41 African nations that reported to WHO.” https://abcnews.go.com/International/africa-faces-uphill-battle-coronavirus-pandemic-fragile-health/story?id=70285430

FIVE icu beds per million people!! how many of our brothers and sisters will die from covid-19 as a result of the lack of resources?

as this pandemic continues to grow in africa (as well as asia and latin america), how will we respond? it is natural that as we in the usa are struggling with what is in our own households and neighborhoods that it is difficult to look across huge oceans to people that we have never met. but will our own suffering change us individually and as a society on how we see the developing world is struggles with the same virus? especially those of us in faith who strive to live our jesus’ mandate of love…

will we see more clearly how easy it is to prioritize our economic health over real human lives? will we love our money more than human lives?

will we care?

i pray the Spirit continue to heal us on EVERY level: ALL of us– in the developed world as well as people in developing countries. and in our healing, that our hearts grow in compassion for our brothers and sisters who are connected to us through a pandemic crisis.