I live in a very small town in Arkansas. We have a small county hospital that wasn’t equipped for what the pandemic would bring. I started my nursing career in this very hospital in 2002. As a healthcare professional, I was always taught to not let your patient or their family see you sweat or panic. However, the panic was already setting in!

We continued each day with a prayer and a brave face. Throughout this whole process of COVID-19, I saw people praying more and turning to God. Another thing we were taught as nurses was to keep religion out of the medical field. But, everyone was turning to God and praying more! Families were spending more time together during the self-quarantine period.

Even though it seemed as though we were going backward in time, before prayer was taken out of schools, before technology took over our kids’ lives, we were taking each day with more love and compassion than I’ve seen in the past 30 years! I didn’t see that as a bad thing. I remember my parents telling stories that usually started “back in my day”…

Wow, look at the stories the future generations will hear… Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d never seen schools closed, cities silent, grocery store shortages, and complete and utter panic. But I’d also never seen how great we really are. I hope we continue these practices in the days to come. Remember the kindness and compassion shown throughout this time. Continue to pray and treat everyone with respect.

We will continue to stand united and strong. God Bless 🙏