​Looking at the Numbers

We’ve been hearing a lot about numbers lately: numbers of COVID cases, numbers of early voters, numbers of inches of snow falling around the area (yuck)…One source estimates that, each winter a septillion snowflakes fall in our country!

Numbers are kind of a big deal.
 
None of us are immune to the effect of numbers on our daily lives.  Personally, I know that the rising number of Coronavirus cases in our county have made things a bit more serious around my workplace of late. 
 
This October, as we near elections, the minds of many have turned to some key issues, as well as numbers involved with them. 
 
One key issue people are considering is our economy.  It’s estimated that over 20 million people lost their jobs early in the pandemic, and many of them have not found employment again since.  Most of us working in the field of long-term care, though faced with many challenges, at least have not had to deal with this terrible situation.  What an awful hardship it must be to be unemployed in today’s world!
 
Beyond loss of jobs, about 210,000 people actually died in our country this year, related to COVID-19; that’s not too far shy of a quarter of a million!  No wonder effectively combating this virus is forefront in many people’s minds as they think about heading to the polls or mailing in their ballots in the near future.
 
Although this year’s numbers aren’t yet available, another set of numbers I can’t help but think of is the numbers of unborn babies killed annually by abortion.  Estimating from recent years' figures, it wouldn’t be farfetched to guess that the number would be somewhere around 800,000 in the United States.  That’s roughly triple the number of Americans whose lives ended in relationship to this “pandemic.”
 
Some might argue against this comparison, stating that the Coronavirus is an infectious disease, while abortion is a “medical procedure.”  Nonetheless, both of these leading causes of death sadly take the life of vulnerable human persons. 
 
Furthermore, those killed by abortion never have a chance to "live."  They never get to enjoy life and have the many experiences the rest of us have been blessed with.  I am not trying to downplay the seriousness of the virus plaguing our world, but just trying to share a little perspective on a greater evil that has been plaguing our society for many years already. 
 
There are so many vitally important issues to consider in our world today, but those whose right to life is not safeguarded don’t even have access to any of the other goods we’re promoting (such as education, economic stability, or healthcare, etc.).

Regardless of where you stand on any of these sets of numbers, these issues, I hope you will join me in praying for the guidance of the Holy Spirit on our country in dealing with current situations. 

Wouldn't it be great if we could have millions of Americans joined in prayer?

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