I’m sunbathing through my bedroom window. I would love to be outdoors playing with my kids on this beautiful day. But I can’t. I am quarantined to my room as I wait for my test results to come back. The sun feels so stinking good right now and it almost made me forget, even if only for a moment…

Alright, so here’s how it all went down.

I went to work on Sunday, was screened when I got there and had no fever. An hour into my shift, I looked at one of the other nurses and said, “Don’t kill me but I think I am going to have a fever. I just feel it coming.” Sure enough my shift ended early with me having a low grade fever, chills, and body aches. In any normal time, I’d either tough it out as long as possible or go home early and simply go to bed. This is no normal time, though. I sat in my car before I left and called my husband. He set up our bedroom as a quarantine room…just in case.

Monday morning I felt worse. I called my doctor. They connected me to the Covid-19 Hotline that my local hospital set up. I talked to one person who screened me and then she connected me to the next level person. That person screened me further and told me I would receive a call if the doctor felt it was neccesary for me to be tested. I receieved a call from my doctor’s office later telling me I needed to be tested.

I was tested yesterday. There was an indescribable strangeness as I pulled up to the big white tent. I called the number they told me to call when I got there and they told me to go ahead and pull in under the tent. I shook my head and thought, What the heck is going on in this world? The feeling  worsened as I watched the nurse walk up to my car window all gowned, gloved, and masked. As for the swab test? Yep, not even going to go through the gross discomfort of that. All I can say is all of it will be forever imprinted into my memory. It truly felt as though it was my big debut in a Sci-Fi reality TV show.

Today I received a notification that I was negative for Influenza AB and that I needed to stay quarantined until my Covid-19 test came back. I am hesitant to write and share any of this, but then there is power in sharing your story with others. Even if my test comes back negative, God has been at work through my little quarantine. That, my friends, is always a beautiful thing to share.

I don’t think I will need hospitalization if I have it. I do worry about the people I’ve been in contact with. I pray I don’t have it because of that. We’ve been diligent in our social distancing, but I’ve worked and Matt had been working outside the house up until last Thursday. Remember, it can take 14 days to even show symptoms. It is scary to think how one person can pass it on to another who can pass it on to two more and so on.

Needless to say, all of this led me to not be my calm self. It led me to do something I very seldom do. Tuesday before I left for my test, I put in a prayer request for myself. My pastor texted me that he was praying and then asked if he could call and pray with me after my test. Before he prayed, we talked and I had a really hard time putting into words how I was feeling. He shared Phillipians 4:6-7 with me. It’s a familiar verse, but something he said after really helped. He said God’s peace is a promise to us. It reminded me that whether I am feeling it or not, God’s peace is with me. I hope it can be a reminder to you too.

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

-Phillipians 4:6-7