Published by Robert W. Huntley, CFP®, CHFC®, CKA® Founder & Wealth Advisor
I was talking last night with my Mother, Dr. Peggy Egger… She is doing great, still able to play golf so long as they are solo in their golf carts and use social distancing. I hope I have half of her energy and enthusiasm for life in twenty years.
She told me a story I had not heard before, or least don’t remember hearing. It was relevant to what the country is dealing with now.
In 1917 the country was mired in World War I. On top of that, the world was dealing with what we now refer to as the world-wide Spanish Flu pandemic.
My Grandfather, Earnest Hoyler, was married to a young woman at the time and had two young sons. This was his first wife and sadly, she contracted the Spanish Flu and died.
Had that not happened, Earnest Hoyler would never have married a young woman from Texas, Ms. Lois Kuykendall. They went on to have four children of their own, one of which was my mother, Peggy Hoyler.
So, had the Spanish Flu not happened, I would not be here today, nor any of Linda and my children.
Weird isn’t it?
Life is funny that way. We look back and see the threads woven together that lead to our present self and circumstances.
Even though we can look back over time and make these connections, it doesn’t diminish one bit how terrible it feels during the current storm. We don’t yet know how long this is going to last, how many deaths it will lead to, and how much economic pain will be endured because of the worldwide reaction to stopping the spread of the virus.
We cannot know the future. We can only look back and examine prior history.
No one knows what the current worldwide pandemic will lead to because we are still in the middle of it. It looks scary now, and it is in some respects. However, we all know this will eventually be over, and when it is, more threads will be woven into the history that is yet to be recorded.
I’ve noticed over the years that we human beings have control over almost nothing, yet we act like we have control over everything.
When things come along that knock us off our horse like this COVID-19, it throws us into a bit of chaos. We don’t like having to admit we are not in control.
But one thing we do control always is our mind, will, and emotions. The Bible refers to this part of us as our heart:
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge me and I shall make your paths straight.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 “The eyes of the Lord look to and fro throughout the world looking to strongly support those whose hearts are truly His.”
So, what is your heart telling you right now?
Do you find yourself fearful and anxious? Or is your eye on the horizon looking for land at any moment? The Bible also speaks to fear:
2 Timothy 1:7 “For you have not been given a spirit of fear but of love, power, and self-control.”
Friends, just as tragedy led to me being here, this too shall pass. We will all see the threads of this difficult time as a necessary precursor for the great good to come in our collective futures.
We only need to patiently endure and trust that God is in control, I am not, and that’s okay.
