Over the past year, I have had several requests on my heart that I have prayed about quite often. At times, I would even feel despair thinking there was no way that these requests would ever get answered. I prayed and prayed. I read books and studies Christian authors on the subjects of my prayers, thinking one of their suggestions would be just the thing to fix my problem. It wasn’t.

Enter COVID-19 quarantine. My life has been turned upside down, as has that of the whole world. I’m home educating my children. I’m not able to leave my home even for doctors appointments because of my status as a patient with an autoimmune disease and a compromised immune system. My husband has a detail at work and is working a lot more hours so I am handling far more of the house and cooking and child responsibilities on my own than I did just a few weeks ago. I stepped down from an online ministry I was leading, which was sad.

But in all of these things, God has answered specific prayers. The kids being home means I can catch them up on subjects they weren’t thriving in at school. I can explain the book report process more thoroughly so that next year they are more prepared. I can work on attitudes all day everyday not just in small chunks during the week and on weekends. A very specific prayer for my marriage has been answered, one I have prayed for consistently for four years now. My health has seemed to have a rejuvenation. I’m doing far more than I was, and I am handling it. Thankfully I can do homeschool from the couch. But I am staying up all day, being engaged with the kids lessons, and making supper. We are all eating around our dining room table – which God allowed us to get delivered literally right before the quarantine went into place- and talking about our days. While I loved leading my online group, God has showed me that others can fill that position. I formed a small group for women who needed a safe place during this quarantine that brings calm to their lives, and that ministry is just as important, maybe more so than the ministry to the 1600 women I was leading. Personal relationships formed in small groups help while people can’t see other people in person. Most of my doctors have gone to telemedicine so I am still able to see them without the risk of infection. If this had happened even a couple years ago, insurance companies hadn’t prepared to bill for telemedicine. They have now allowing it to not be a bigger financial burden to use. My husband is still working in his place of employment. And while that does scare me for his risk of infection, I am thankful he has a good and steady job. Our church is working overtime to minister to us. And having churches available online is spreading the gospel around the world on a broad scale.

Did I think that a pandemic would answer my prayers? Not in a million years. But God is still God in good times and bad times. And seeing answers to prayers in the midst of this time that has been filled with anxiety, helps ease those fears. If God can answer a four year old prayer during a pandemic, He can take care of me and my family through the duration of that pandemic. I must only trust Him. Are you seeing answers to prayers? Are you able to trust Him today?