I have to set the stage. It was evening after a fun day at the pool, long naps for the girls and dinner at an amazing restaurant. Returning home, I lounged while my daughter and daughter-in-law tried to resolve a problem with our rental car.

I watched Harper, the 9 month old, crawling around, exploring every nook and cranny. A small chirp from her caught my attention and I glanced over to see blood on the floor around her while she looked at me completely perplexed. Reaching down to pick her up, I exclaimed, “There is so much blood! Lots and lots of blood!”

Her mother, my oldest daughter, is an RN and so is my niece, who spent this week with us. They immediately dropped what they were doing to respond to the catastrophe of “so much blood” around Harper. They hurried over, skidding to a stop when they saw the blood.

And then I was scolded. Scolded for calling four drops of blood “lots and lots of blood!” They described it as a scant amount, perhaps even a skiff of blood. But not lots and lots.

Poor Harper’s finger still dripped from a little cut under her fingernail. It seemed like a lot of blood to my untrained eye.

I intentionally avoid many topics in this blog that would be inflammatory or otherwise upsetting. There are enough outlets for that kind of information. I want to help my readers step out of the chaos, not into it. But as I experienced that scolding from my daughter, my mind went to the recent panic, if I might call it that, over the coronavirus. And I heard these words:

The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does. He said, “Don’t call everything a conspiracy, like they do, and don’t live in dread of what frightens them. Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe.

Isaiah 8:11-14

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

I overreacted to the cut on Harper’s finger and the amount of blood on the floor. Yes, she cut her finger and there was blood on the floor, sofa, my arm and shirt. I bandaged her finger to stop the bleeding. But it was not worth my panicked proclamation “There is so much blood!”

Truth: there is a new virus in our midst. We should wash our hands and practice good hygiene. If we get sick, we should stay home.

But we should not panic. We should trust and not be afraid. He will keep us in perfect peace when we fix our thoughts on him!