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Who knew that the title of this article is 1960s American slang for something "really, really terrible"? After checking a few online sites for definitions, the majority confirm that this term is talking about a bad or very poor performance of acting or theatrical origin. For some of us alive back then in mid-century Australia, we were mostly way too young to understand any of this while wearing nappies, learning to walk and talk, let alone speak coherently, therefore this term escaped our notice until much later. Sounds silly to say X-double-minus like something made up by children with a secret handshake before entering their cubby house, but it does indeed grab one's attention to at least investigate the origin of this phrase. Could it be like a code word for terrorism today or the dreaded COVID-19 virus plaguing the world? It sounds like something from mathematics — some of which I completely understood as things became more complex in the world of Maths, and some of which was a complete mystery to me. It didn't help that I was absent and missed quite a bit of schooling in my final years due to mum dying of cancer, yet I have scant memories of a humble Maths teacher who was French — he wore bright red socks unabashedly and unapologetically in the 1970s while making all the girls laugh in a Catholic school known as Chavoin College. That was a long time ago when things made more sense to my underdeveloped but curious mind in many fundamental ways compared to now.
Speaking of terrible things like cancer and COVID-19, we eventually succumbed to the virus last week. It was all around us with one person openly declaring that his wife at home was positive and isolating while he was out shopping. He said it was nothing, like a 3 day cold. Was that the time we got it in the lift? He was wearing a mask so gave a good outward appearance but those in the know realise you might as well go bare faced, and as my husband likes to say, "about as useful as putting up a chain link fence to keep the bumble bees out". For me, it would be the more irritating mozzies (mosquitos). Then there is always the possibility that IT clients could have spread it as Jim succumbed first last Sabbath evening suddenly after arriving home. It was more of a gradual slide for me with this almost imperceptible little cough, hardly there for 2 days while I felt no different in energy levels. I thought to myself, if this is COVID then it is a "walk in the park". Day 3 proved to be more challenging with the cough now being a real, full blown cough, the sort that hurts your rib cage so you hastily hold onto your sides as you know the pain will be challenging. Having had pneumonia at least twice in my life I was beginning to think on Day 4 that that was where I was heading. Now my status was X-double-minus to me so I asked the GP over the phone for antibiotic therapy and while we're at it, "please can I have some Ivermectin?" Of course it was a negative response to the latter as my medical officer did not want to break Australian laws and then politely told me antibiotics do not work on viruses (just as a side note, I wonder why antibiotics are part of the Ivermectin cure pack one can purchase from Indiamart online…hmmm?) Ahhh yes, I was very well aware of this basic information from virus and infectious agents classes at university degree level science study along with all the anatomy and physiology one could soak up from our main textbook affectionately known as "torture and agony" (by Tortora & Anagnostakos) during the early 1990s. So I explained my lungs were tight and the situation with coughing and history of being prone to pneumonia. That seemed to do it nicely. And as I know my medical status far more accurately than any GP, as predicted after the second dose of Augmentin Duo Forte I suddenly felt much better. Hurray!
This virus is a strange thing. Each day presents with different symptoms. Both of us are having different experiences, however the common denominator here seems to be the cough which is annoying, really annoying. Jim lost taste and smell a full week into it while I hadn't; the next day his sense of smell returned. Same strain, different symptoms. A really weird thing however happened to me on Day 5 with a full day feeling completely recovered on this, the Preparation Day leading me to believe that I was healed. The next day I was well aware that it was back to square one again — hardly moved out of my chair. There is no other explanation than that I was given 24 hours of full health in order to wash, cook, clean, garden, and work like I was in my 20s again. Amazing. I will never forget this as in all my life that has never happened where an illness takes one day off in the middle of a couple of weeks where things may slowly start to get worse and then build to the day/s where you know you must be at your worst before one gets better. One day of full joy in perfect health in the middle of days of pain, working like you did in the physical peak of your life. How does that happen? Never saw it coming, certainly did not think it possible but when God is involved, we know He can do anything. My prayers for the Preparation Day were small prayers advising God if I can just get the washing done including bedsheets, and also the cooking so that we would be prepared for the Sabbath according to Exodus 16:23 then I would be very happy. God knows I am a perfectionist in preparing for His Sabbath and do everything possible in order to prepare well, usually extending myself some. This time feeling frail and more limited than ever, my desire was just to cover the very basics of what God asks, not what I think I should do, but rather what I know to do. Whenever I submit my will fully God shows me blessings that simply stagger me, that fill my heart even more, inspiring me to become more obedient in faithful humility which is not easy to stretch into longer term evidence. My devotion soars.
Natural immunity is something we wanted — we are super grateful for this and the timing is nice and just right before our annual pilgrimage in about 3 month's time when we leave our abode to travel widely, historically either overseas or interstate to attend the Feast of Tabernacles as well as The Last Great Day. We never trusted human beings under the influence of the enemy to "immediately" have the solution to cure or prevent disease. God allows what He allows and we must never fight God thinking we can fix the problem ourselves with man made stuff that is harmful to our health. In all matters we consult God. He tells us what to do so we should definitely do it. Trust man vs. Trust God. No comparison. No wonder David said to God that he would rather fall into the hands of God than man after he sinned in numbering Israel and Judah. This account is found in 2 Samuel 24 where the pertinent verse is from 2 Samuel 24:14. So David accepted the consequences from God in order to learn a valuable lesson. How are we doing on that? Repentance and forgiveness is such a blessed gift once we realise we have sinned. Humans are so fallible and may look as if they want to protect us and some genuinely do, but our Father is truly the One who actually cares and is the only One we must listen to (Psalm 28:7).
The South Australian Government have already sent me notification the other night that I am now free from isolation as the mandatory 7 days are complete, provided I am not in hospital or have any symptoms. It's only been a week and cannot help but think it's been like solitary confinement like those poor people who have suffered from leprosy — unclean, unclean!! So after printing out my official letter the following day, Wednesday was the day when I ventured out. No big plans to speak of but I did look forward to a gentle walk in the park to get some exercise, to smell the fresh air, watch the birds, feel the sun on my face, people watch, talk to God — but not necessarily in that order. Yet it rained instead and the sun did not venture out behind the dark clouds. I managed to get a few errands done and felt quite satisfied with this anyway. X-double-minus averted for me. I think fear of the unknown with this virus has been my major issue. Somehow my brain wants me to think that things are much harder than they really are. After all the scaremongering and fear tactics comprising the coercive bulletins and news on TV, propaganda can have such a deleterious effect even if we do not believe the lies. Every time we see another advertisement pronouncing that even if one has been double vaxxed, you are not vaxxed. What sort of lunacy and insanity is this?! It would be an understatement to say I feel like vomiting when I see nurses speak with an air of such concern that their patients or the general population go and waste no time in loading themselves up with further experimental poisons which cause sterilisation, autoimmune diseases, and activate their immune systems to implode by causing terminal illnesses notably such as cancers, clots, blood disorders, bleeding — haemorrhages, and highly unwanted neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome for which there is no cure. Anyone can Google online to find the stats involved and I will warn you that it is shocking. Hoping everyone is awake, wide awake by now.
No matter how X-double-minus things look, how bad things may become, or how dire things do become, we have a fail-safe plan that includes going to God first. Why bother even trying to determine what the world is doing to see if we should join in? Even though we live in the world we take no part of it as we belong to God and our Father is preparing us right now to fight a spiritual war rather than participate in this physical realm where mass confusion abounds amongst fear and terror. This is not for us for we have the promise of the soon coming Kingdom of God when Christ returns to take up full rulership with us in proclaiming His omnipotence, omniscience, justice, mercy, and perfection, giving Him rightful glory, honour, and worship, in order to repair and heal the nations crushed by God's number one enemy. Until then the targets on our backs will never fade until our last breath and so we keep busy with laser sharp focus on the big picture of the Kingdom of God. Remember what Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong would often say…"we have read the end of the book and we know who wins".