Pandemic Religion: A Digital Archive

Hope filled Anxiety

As many individuals would say COVID-19 has turned a lot of things in our lives upside down. I am a Christian about to graduate from UT Austin and support raising to join the staff of the church I call my home. Along with those individuals, I would say this pandemic has drastically shifted my idea of what was to come next; however, amid my uncertainty, frustration, intense anxiety, and the loss of my ability to tell time I have seen and heard of healing. I myself would consider myself a pretty anxious person. During this pandemic, I had my first panic attack and hopefully my last. What I saw as I calmed down from the help of my roommates was people coming alongside me and providing comfort in any way possible. I was able to see just how anxious I had been for the weeks of COVID that had already passed. As I have shared that with individuals in my life, I have heard stories of understanding and words of love. While I am not grateful for this pandemic it has been sweet to walk closely with my roommates and to see how individuals are still seeking each other out. The picture I included is from a zoom call of individuals in my ministry watching the live stream of music from our church. Yet there are many times we have come together to proclaim Christ’s name and pray for the people of this earth, where we have encouraged each other and expressed our longing to be together. While I am in no way thankful to see people die, I am grateful to see how this is bringing a lot of people together. Bringing people together to rely on each other and their faith as they seek a way to move forward. So even as I battle anxiety surrounding our world there is a hope that I have. One day we will all commune together in person again and it will be a sweet time.

April 26, 2020

Texas

Austin