Kim Frencken: In the midst of the storm, let's treat each other with patience and respect

We've all been there in the last few weeks. At the store, watching as people ran around like crazy and yelling because the store manager wouldn't let them buy all of the soup.

Honestly, could he really have eaten 50 cans of noodle soup before it expired? Would he have wanted to? We've been in long lines and waited hours for things that normally wouldn't take but a few minutes.  

It seems like almost overnight, our world has changed. 

 The divisiveness and hatred have seeped into our daily lives. Things we took for granted, like running to the store for a carton of milk, are forever changed. Everywhere you look, people are frustrated, angry, yelling, shoving.

I've had my moments too. I wanted to tell the guy yelling and making a horrible scene that he was embarrassing his children. Actually, I wanted to first tell him that he looked like an idiot. Then I was going to remind him that he was acting like a two-year-old having a temper tantrum. But I didn't. 

 I just took a deep breath and turned down another aisle and ignored him. I did call a large chain retailer and suggest that hoarders of toilet paper not be allowed to return it when the chaos was over, as this will negatively hurt a recovering economy. Besides, they bought it, they can keep it and use it. 

I did come close to panic when cat food shelves were bare. And I had a moment of fear when I realized that my income was practically nonexistent for the duration of this situation.

Personally, I'm tired to seeing all the social media doomsday announcements. I'm not a pessimist by nature. Or an alarmist. To read post after post focused on the end of humanity as we know it is a little ..... well, frustrating. 

 We are all affected in some way or another. We are all inconvenienced or negatively impacted by the current pandemic. But in the midst of the storm, a voice keeps saying, "Stay calm." You may not be a believer. That's your business. But I am. And I know that God's got this. 

Nothing surprises Him. Nothing is out of His control. So, in the midst of the storm, let's hang on, stay calm, and treat each other with patience and respect.
(For more of Kim Frencken's writing and information about her educational products, check out her blog, Chocolate For the Teacher.)