As Christians, let’s end ‘corona culture’

EDMOND, Okla. — I thought a disease on the other side of the world would never reach me. Or if it did, it wouldn’t be a big deal because I’m young and healthy.

But it did reach me. 

And it was a big deal.  

The week my family was exposed to COVID-19, some photos were posted on Facebook of my children at a waterpark. A commenter wrote, “Praying none of you get the virus.” 

Laura Akins holds her 5-year-old daughter, Scout, during a nasal swab test for COVID-19. Akins, reviews editor for The Christian Chronicle, survived the coronavirus along with her husband and four children.

Later, when my husband announced that we did, in fact, get the virus, we got text messages from people asking if we’d been wearing masks or if we’d exposed them. We were shocked.

Our society has created a “corona culture” full of judgment, opinions, shame, fear and finger pointing. We are isolating each other during this already socially distant time. 

As Christians, our first response shouldn’t be political or selfish. We should be passing out grace, kindness, love and casseroles like a vaccine. And trust me, we got a lot of casseroles that helped balance out the negative.

CHEST PAIN, SHAME AND GUILT

My children — ages 5, 6, 10 and 13 — experienced mild cold and flu-like symptoms, lasting for almost a week. 

Any other summer, I would have thought they were worn down from swimming, staying up late and eating junk food. We only tested them because we had planned to see immunocompromised family members the next week. 

When their results came back, my doctor told my husband and me to assume we had it or would get it very soon. We went home and quarantined from June 29 to July 22 — from my birthday to my son’s.

My two younger children asked if this was the virus everyone had been hiding from since March. It was hard to explain to them that, yes, the mild cold they were experiencing is what shut the world down. 

“Really think about where you go today and who you’ll be around. And wear a mask when you can,” Laura Akins wrote in a July 4 social media post. “I have COVID and it hurts really bad.” In this photo she and her son, Wiley, rest and recuperate.

But when the virus invaded my lungs a week later, and eventually my husband’s the week after that, they understood better. 

My mother, who suffers from arthritis, was also positive for COVID-19. She experienced it along with strep throat and only felt run down for a few days. I, on the other hand — a healthy, 30-something-year-old — was a few breaths away from going to the hospital. 

Day after day, I woke up with chest pain and struggled to breathe. I couldn’t get out of bed and was in tears as I realized I had to suffer another lonely day at home. The minutes stretched into eternity. Eventually, I got well (without any medicine), and my husband got sick. I thought the virus would never leave our home. 

I felt shame and guilt — like I’d done something wrong and deserved to be sick. Satan repeatedly told me, “You chose to be in that place. You put your kids at risk. You did this to them, to your husband, to yourself.” 

And then to receive unsolicited comments from strangers — it was all too much, but it was far from the end. 

THE HARDEST PART OF THE PANDEMIC

While I’m technically over the virus, I’m still suffering. Recently I experienced new chest pain and shortness of breath. I felt like I was hiking up a mountain. 

My doctor did an X-ray and found air trapped in my lungs. As I write this  I’m back in bed, asking Jesus if I’m ever going to breathe easily again.

It hurts to hear flippant comments about this being a hoax or an easy fix with the right combination of pills. I don’t think it’s that simple. 

The hardest part of this worldwide pandemic is not the disease itself, but the opinions and arguments that are tearing us apart.

The hardest part of this worldwide pandemic is not the disease itself, but the opinions and arguments that are tearing us apart.

Do we take the medicine people talk about on social media? Do we trust our doctors? Do we send our kids back to school? Do we wear a mask? Do we judge others’ choices? Do we assume they are making the best decisions they can? 

Dear reader, you and I can change the course of 2020. Try this today: Don’t judge anyone on social media (speaking to myself here), but lift them up in prayer. Don’t shame or blame, but give each other grace. Let’s stop pushing each other away during this already difficult time. 

This will be hard — to think and act like Jesus and continually humble ourselves for the sake of our community. But I believe we should try. 

Scout Akins gets ready to enjoy some Blue Bell ice cream sent in a care package after her bout of COVID-19.

I can only speak to my experience. You can only speak to yours. And we are both entitled to opinions based on our knowledge and experience. All I ask is that we listen to each other with compassion, find ways to meet in the middle and work together to end this “corona culture.” 

Don’t be naive like I was, but don’t live in fear either. Act as if you could get the virus. Take safety precautions like hand washing and social distancing when possible. Show mercy and kindness, and unfollow those who don’t bring you closer to Jesus. 

Take a deep breath (if you are able), and trust that we will get past this. 

And freeze a few casseroles, just in case.

LAURA AKINS is Reviews Editor for The Christian Chronicle. She is youth ministry director for the Heritage Church of Christ in Edmond, where her husband, Travis, serves as minister. Contact [email protected]. 

Filed under: Church of Christ Coronavirus COVID-19 covid19 I had covid19 Opinion Perspective Top Stories