Coronavirus
Cor o' na?
This book is dedicated to Jesus Christ, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth and Commander-In-Chief of all. To Him be glory, now and forever.
Cor o' na? I
On some Thursday in March Corona set in. Circa 2020. We were beset with ignorance. Who was this? We knew it came from China but it was largely an unwanted visitor.
I remember the night before. I and a friend went to church. We ate meat turnovers and yoghurt. It was a sweet beginning to a bitter continuum. No butter.
Thursday it was when Ghana saw her uninvited guest. Already lives were claimed. On social media daily a number popped up for who had been ill-visited. We were adviced to stay indoors – quarantine they called it. Much as it was a time to hide from the unwanted visitor, it was a time to buckle up and family.
The quarantine did little to impede the rush of rage from the unwanted. Deaths left, deaths right, uncertainty all around. Except for a group of Christians who remained stoic amidst the pandemonium. More on that later.
People do less because they know no better. The fear that gripped Ghana was not due to the fatality of the virus per se. It was more linked to the uncertainty. The unsureness of how long this visitor was to stay. Was it soon going to be a spectre vanished into perpetual darkness or the new order of the age? I do not know. People began living for the moment and throwing the future away. But like I said, there was a group of people who thought the dark times were clearer than the deep blue skies and remain undaunted in the face of peril. Christians during this time drew inspiration and still do, now, as I write, from the first two verses of Psalm 91.
He who dwells in the secret place of The Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of The Almighty
I will say of The Lord, He is my Refuge and Fortress
My God; on Him I [confidently] trust.
It’s true. God was right there. Making divine provision for the ones who needed it, igniting fires of compassion in the hearts of donors. As a matter of fact, the President waived three months’ payment of water usage for the entire country. God at that moment, had the heart and attention of all who trusted in Him.
So it was the President passed a law for lockdown. One had better stay home. One had better not step out. One had better just call or text. Or one would come face to face with a Policeman with orders to send you back home. The theme was, stay home so this unwanted visitor might not catch you, or you it. You still wanna go out? Well, do you wanna catch Cor o’ na?
Cor o' na? II
The incidence of cor o’ na and the associated lockdown cast a dark gloom over the country. All over, people were surreptitiously moving to work, something once done freely. Walks meant breaking the law. Open shops looked like defiant deviants in the face of an army. Pure revolution.
Then there was the situation or feeling of one, of food in domiciles. It was proper at the time to stock up one’s home for the entire duration of the lockdown. Left and right people entered and exited shops clutching to grocery bags, water, anything to keep body on bone. The other side of the coin, was two-fold. The people who daily had to commute to work for sustainance and the ones who had no food at all. Sometimes, whilst eating, I would think of my neighbours who had little money. Little food. Little wherewithal to obtain both. Then the wave of guilt would sea over me. I usually prayed and did what I could to lessen the number of the starving by giving whatever left-overs I had to my canine friend called Coco. It somehow helped ease the burden plenty.
I remember being stopped by a policeman in the dead of the night. I had no idea what time it was and decided to take a walk. Unbeknownst to me, this particular car behind me held a drove of policemen. It screeched to a halt in front of me and one dark, dark, officer proceeded to alight away from his comrades. I was scared but the Christian in me was quite polite. “Hi!” I muttered somewhat cheerily. “You are asking me why?” He asked. “No, I said hi”. “Oh hi”. He said. Thereupon I began giving unsolicited information about my address. He cut me midsentence with a clear “This area is on lockdown. Go on home”. I obliged and thanked Jesus for saving me from a dirty night slap. I made my way home as quickly as I could shaken in my boots but feeling good all the same.
I daresay the lockdown put a strain on friendships. As my friend Dominic posted on his whatsapp status, the friendships not strong were being dramatically tested. I was a partaker. Each day my friend and I had to speak on the phone knowing there was no way we were going to see each other, for school was by then a ghost town. The hidden undertones of the direction the friendship was taking if it would not materialize in physical contact burned bright. All day we would hear voices, see faces from screens during video calls, advice each other to use the hand sanitizer and go to bed wondering what the next day would be like or when the lockdown would finally end. As I write, the country is in the last week of lockdown. But these few weeks have been some of the longest in Ghana’s history. It is uncertain if we will actually gambol like calves released from their stalls as the President has declared the duration of lockdown is subject to review. If you’re reading this, say a prayer. My friend and I desperately need it.
Amongst the symptoms of the disease are cold, flu, catarrh, loss of taste, difficulty breathing…and hello, did you just cough or na?
Cor o' na? III
“The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, There is no God”. Psalm 14:1
Exasperating I heard and experienced was the stop of coercive forces on drivers and passengers. These stops sometimes ended in an about – turn. Much to the chagrin of victims. So I heard. So I almost experienced. It happened thus.
A soldier stopped our vehicle and enquired our goings-to. I told him, we – being my sister and I – were running errand. He proceeded to ask why only one person did not make the trip upon which he commanded “You, get down”, pointing at my sister. Being a Christian is a calm existence, albeit sometimes dotted with brisk clarity. “No, she is with me and we go the same route”. I said. “!” Was the response of the soldier as he brushed us away. We took off, glad to be in good graces with Jesus.
One country with relatively fewer cases of the virus is Czech republic. Companies closed down to manufacture and distribute face masks free of charge in Czech republic.
Rather than about-turn drivers, I began to think coercive forces on top of their good work, could collaborate with Government and hand out sanitizers and face masks with a dash of education on corona virus to further war on the disease.
That though is fickle human effort.
What we need is found in 2 Chronicles 12:32.
“And of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs; and all their kinsmen were under their command”
If you believe God be The Good Father, raise your faith, touch the hem of His garment and pray He send men like He did for David in Ziklag. Men able to whisper the oracles of God to people with power derived from God. Until then, we will continue to see these dark times as the clear blue skies. We certainly being them that cleave and cling, hard, to Jesus Christ. Remember, cor o’ na is under your feet.
Cor o' na? IV
The incidences that led to the advent of cor o’ na belong to the deep wisdom of God, not these pages. However, in the rabble of the plague lay a gem bright enough to spark joy.
It so hapoened that at some long last the lockdown came to an end. Ghana was the first African country break up with lockdown on Monday April 20, 2020. This was not the gem in the rabble. This was.
Romans 8vs28- Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
This much is true for all the churches that sprang up in homes. Churches opened left and right, with Jesus taking centre stage. We crowned Jesus with many crowns and tapped into healing worshipping at His Feet. Everything is found at the Feet of Jesus, I tell you no lie. I saw it myself. Shackles broken. Families restored. All by touching the hem of the garment of our Lord Jesus through worship and praise.
Cor o’ na is being defeated, one church at a time, one step of faith a moment. We know there is healing (Cor o’ na gone) and there’s freedom (quarantine vanished) and there’s new life at His Feet.
One who has heard it before will see traits of William Mcdowell’s “Touch the hem” spread across this write up. It is my song of choice these days. Every knee will bow at the Name of Jesus, including Cor o’ na’s. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Now, I read a memoir by Sybille Bedford called Quicksands. When water in sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that loses strength and cannot support weight. Cor o’ na? came with much emotional weight. I hope it gradually sinks into the quicksands of time. Thus ends the IVth chapter of this blessing in disguise. It’s what my faith decides to call it. What does yours? Cor o’ na?
By Stefan John Graham
Student of Ghana Institute of Journalism.
This book is dedicated to Jesus Christ, God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth and Commander-In-Chief of all. To Him be glory, now and forever.
Cor o' na? I
On some Thursday in March Corona set in. Circa 2020. We were beset with ignorance. Who was this? We knew it came from China but it was largely an unwanted visitor.
I remember the night before. I and a friend went to church. We ate meat turnovers and yoghurt. It was a sweet beginning to a bitter continuum. No butter.
Thursday it was when Ghana saw her uninvited guest. Already lives were claimed. On social media daily a number popped up for who had been ill-visited. We were adviced to stay indoors – quarantine they called it. Much as it was a time to hide from the unwanted visitor, it was a time to buckle up and family.
The quarantine did little to impede the rush of rage from the unwanted. Deaths left, deaths right, uncertainty all around. Except for a group of Christians who remained stoic amidst the pandemonium. More on that later.
People do less because they know no better. The fear that gripped Ghana was not due to the fatality of the virus per se. It was more linked to the uncertainty. The unsureness of how long this visitor was to stay. Was it soon going to be a spectre vanished into perpetual darkness or the new order of the age? I do not know. People began living for the moment and throwing the future away. But like I said, there was a group of people who thought the dark times were clearer than the deep blue skies and remain undaunted in the face of peril. Christians during this time drew inspiration and still do, now, as I write, from the first two verses of Psalm 91.
He who dwells in the secret place of The Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of The Almighty
I will say of The Lord, He is my Refuge and Fortress
My God; on Him I [confidently] trust.
It’s true. God was right there. Making divine provision for the ones who needed it, igniting fires of compassion in the hearts of donors. As a matter of fact, the President waived three months’ payment of water usage for the entire country. God at that moment, had the heart and attention of all who trusted in Him.
So it was the President passed a law for lockdown. One had better stay home. One had better not step out. One had better just call or text. Or one would come face to face with a Policeman with orders to send you back home. The theme was, stay home so this unwanted visitor might not catch you, or you it. You still wanna go out? Well, do you wanna catch Cor o’ na?
Cor o' na? II
The incidence of cor o’ na and the associated lockdown cast a dark gloom over the country. All over, people were surreptitiously moving to work, something once done freely. Walks meant breaking the law. Open shops looked like defiant deviants in the face of an army. Pure revolution.
Then there was the situation or feeling of one, of food in domiciles. It was proper at the time to stock up one’s home for the entire duration of the lockdown. Left and right people entered and exited shops clutching to grocery bags, water, anything to keep body on bone. The other side of the coin, was two-fold. The people who daily had to commute to work for sustainance and the ones who had no food at all. Sometimes, whilst eating, I would think of my neighbours who had little money. Little food. Little wherewithal to obtain both. Then the wave of guilt would sea over me. I usually prayed and did what I could to lessen the number of the starving by giving whatever left-overs I had to my canine friend called Coco. It somehow helped ease the burden plenty.
I remember being stopped by a policeman in the dead of the night. I had no idea what time it was and decided to take a walk. Unbeknownst to me, this particular car behind me held a drove of policemen. It screeched to a halt in front of me and one dark, dark, officer proceeded to alight away from his comrades. I was scared but the Christian in me was quite polite. “Hi!” I muttered somewhat cheerily. “You are asking me why?” He asked. “No, I said hi”. “Oh hi”. He said. Thereupon I began giving unsolicited information about my address. He cut me midsentence with a clear “This area is on lockdown. Go on home”. I obliged and thanked Jesus for saving me from a dirty night slap. I made my way home as quickly as I could shaken in my boots but feeling good all the same.
I daresay the lockdown put a strain on friendships. As my friend Dominic posted on his whatsapp status, the friendships not strong were being dramatically tested. I was a partaker. Each day my friend and I had to speak on the phone knowing there was no way we were going to see each other, for school was by then a ghost town. The hidden undertones of the direction the friendship was taking if it would not materialize in physical contact burned bright. All day we would hear voices, see faces from screens during video calls, advice each other to use the hand sanitizer and go to bed wondering what the next day would be like or when the lockdown would finally end. As I write, the country is in the last week of lockdown. But these few weeks have been some of the longest in Ghana’s history. It is uncertain if we will actually gambol like calves released from their stalls as the President has declared the duration of lockdown is subject to review. If you’re reading this, say a prayer. My friend and I desperately need it.
Amongst the symptoms of the disease are cold, flu, catarrh, loss of taste, difficulty breathing…and hello, did you just cough or na?
Cor o' na? III
“The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, There is no God”. Psalm 14:1
Exasperating I heard and experienced was the stop of coercive forces on drivers and passengers. These stops sometimes ended in an about – turn. Much to the chagrin of victims. So I heard. So I almost experienced. It happened thus.
A soldier stopped our vehicle and enquired our goings-to. I told him, we – being my sister and I – were running errand. He proceeded to ask why only one person did not make the trip upon which he commanded “You, get down”, pointing at my sister. Being a Christian is a calm existence, albeit sometimes dotted with brisk clarity. “No, she is with me and we go the same route”. I said. “!” Was the response of the soldier as he brushed us away. We took off, glad to be in good graces with Jesus.
One country with relatively fewer cases of the virus is Czech republic. Companies closed down to manufacture and distribute face masks free of charge in Czech republic.
Rather than about-turn drivers, I began to think coercive forces on top of their good work, could collaborate with Government and hand out sanitizers and face masks with a dash of education on corona virus to further war on the disease.
That though is fickle human effort.
What we need is found in 2 Chronicles 12:32.
“And of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do, 200 chiefs; and all their kinsmen were under their command”
If you believe God be The Good Father, raise your faith, touch the hem of His garment and pray He send men like He did for David in Ziklag. Men able to whisper the oracles of God to people with power derived from God. Until then, we will continue to see these dark times as the clear blue skies. We certainly being them that cleave and cling, hard, to Jesus Christ. Remember, cor o’ na is under your feet.
Cor o' na? IV
The incidences that led to the advent of cor o’ na belong to the deep wisdom of God, not these pages. However, in the rabble of the plague lay a gem bright enough to spark joy.
It so hapoened that at some long last the lockdown came to an end. Ghana was the first African country break up with lockdown on Monday April 20, 2020. This was not the gem in the rabble. This was.
Romans 8vs28- Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
This much is true for all the churches that sprang up in homes. Churches opened left and right, with Jesus taking centre stage. We crowned Jesus with many crowns and tapped into healing worshipping at His Feet. Everything is found at the Feet of Jesus, I tell you no lie. I saw it myself. Shackles broken. Families restored. All by touching the hem of the garment of our Lord Jesus through worship and praise.
Cor o’ na is being defeated, one church at a time, one step of faith a moment. We know there is healing (Cor o’ na gone) and there’s freedom (quarantine vanished) and there’s new life at His Feet.
One who has heard it before will see traits of William Mcdowell’s “Touch the hem” spread across this write up. It is my song of choice these days. Every knee will bow at the Name of Jesus, including Cor o’ na’s. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Now, I read a memoir by Sybille Bedford called Quicksands. When water in sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that loses strength and cannot support weight. Cor o’ na? came with much emotional weight. I hope it gradually sinks into the quicksands of time. Thus ends the IVth chapter of this blessing in disguise. It’s what my faith decides to call it. What does yours? Cor o’ na?
By Stefan John Graham
Student of Ghana Institute of Journalism.
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