Tough Times

Last year was a scary year for me and my family. But it was also a year where I experienced God’s amazing love. My dad had been feeling sick, and on April 13 we found out he had contracted a new virus called COVID-19 and was being hospitalized.

Around that same time all the schools had gone to “virtual learning” on Zoom classes because of this new virus. It was all very new and confusing. It was also a hard time because I saw that the world just sort of stopped. Everyone had to stay in their homes. There was no school or work, and some people, like my dad, were very sick. The hardest part for me was that we were home, but my dad was not.

My mom would get news from the hospital every day. Sometimes it was good news and other times it was not so good. Even though things were very tough, I remember that our whole extended family would come together on Zoom every night to have worship and to pray.

Those were the best times. There were so many prayers for my dad. Some prayers were short, others were long and some prayers were even in other languages. There were people praying for my dad and my family from all over!

One night we got a call from my dad’s doctor. He said that my dad was not doing well and was not getting better. That night my family got on Zoom together and had a prayer vigil.

The prayer vigil lasted all night. It reminded me of the night when Jesus spoke with His father in the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus poured out His heart to Him in prayer. That’s how we all prayed for my dad that night.

Two days later we got some amazing news. My dad was getting better very quickly! God had answered our prayers!

It was incredible. My dad was finally able to leave the hospital on June 17, two months since I had last seen him!

I see my dad every day now and I think back on how God was with us throughout those incredibly hard times. He never leaves our side even when we see that things are getting bad. God always shines His light on any situation. God has so much love for me, my dad and everyone in the world!

By Luzeli Prieto