My faith has helped me find peace amid coronavirus pandemic. It can help you, too.

For about a year, I had contemplated having knee replacement surgery. I spoke to my friends who had undergone this. Most were positive. Others scared the living daylight out of me.

At 82, I knew I would be taking a risk. I was concerned about being under the anesthesia for so long. I have seen other seniors go under and they never come back the same.

Still, the pain in my right knee was getting so severe it interfered with my sleep. No morning was pain free. Yet, I got up thankful for another day and for being “clothed and in my right mind” as my Mom used to pray. I went about my daily chores and my mission work and prayed for relief.

One day as I was praying, I thought about the many people who go under the knife every day, many of whom don’t know the Lord as I do. Yet, they came through without complications. I began to ask God to increase my faith. And in late January, I spoke to my doctor and said I was ready.

The surgery was first scheduled for Feb. 27, but was changed to March 12. The waiting time was surely a test of my patience and faith. I thought about canceling the surgery. But I kept on praying, asking for a faith increase.

By the time surgery day arrived, I was prayed up and ready. There was a serene calmness about me. I knew it was because I had placed my life and my trust in God’s hands.

Then, I learned just days before surgery that the coronavirus had invaded our shores. Should I or shouldn’t I go through with the surgery?

I was physically healthy enough. I was at peace with the Lord. And so, I proceeded to move on with the surgery. It was during this pre-surgery time that I realized that it is human to have fears and anxieties. But to those of us who place our trust in God, we know He has not given us the spirit of fear. We believe His Word when it tells us to “be anxious for nothing.”

Now, two weeks later, I am recuperating at home, with my only brother Adam, here from Melbourne, to help care for me. I am so thankful to God for him, as well as for my godchildren Greg, Nykki, Vickie, Cecily, Troy, and friends like Dot, who make sure that I have good healthy meals and take my exercises properly.

My tears don’t matter at all to them, as Grace, the physical therapist who comes three times a week, takes me through the therapy routines.

In these past two weeks, things have shifted so much that I don’t have much time to consider how I am feeling after my knee surgery. People are dying from the coronavirus. I pray for the first responders, the emergency room personnel and for the families who have already lost loved ones to this horrible disease. And I pray for those who have yet to learn they have the symptoms.

Through all of this, I would like to take advantage of my “religion writer” title and invite you all to read Psalm 91. The words of this scripture have long been a comfort to me. I believe it will be to you, too.

With churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of God being temporarily closed because of the coronavirus, let us all be mindful of the advice from our authorities to follow the safety guidelines.

If you are like me, I know you must miss the fellowship with your spiritual sisters and brothers. But don’t despair. Many churches are streaming their services and St. Augustine Church in Coral Gables has even started holding drive-thru confessions.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. This, too, shall pass.

God bless everyone.

This story was originally published March 28, 2020 at 3:05 PM.