Life kept happening on the outside, but it had stopped inside me. Repeated behaviors kept me on track - predictably executing my next move which resulted in little satisfaction at the end of the day. Simply put, I was stuck.
God doesn't ever do things for just one reason. He has a way of using the same event in the lives of thousands, orchestrating it all for a thousand different purposes and all for His glory alone.
Catastrophe broke through the thick wall that surrounded me and held me in apathy: Harvey hit Texas. It was as if our television knew no other stations existed but the local ones, the weather channel, and the national news....as all were focused and stayed on our coastline. I waited for wind that never really came to our area. The waters rose up into our yard, only to recede again with time and never coming even close to our doors.
We soon learned that we were an island, unable to leave town for quite some time. The reality of what was happening could only be viewed on the screen. Horror struck so many with the loss of loved ones and homes, cars and belongings. Some were being rescued by helicopters from rooftops, others by boats floating right over unseen streets and curbs and landscapes. Others were less fortunate and not rescued at all.
Refuges and shelters soon sprung up all over town - filled beyond capacity in some areas. Days went by. I texted with friends I could not reach whose homes were flooded. Little has changed in some areas even now and many, many will be displaced for months to come.
But God. I love those words. God did not look away. He saw it all and His people were stirred. Love grew from Harvey. Groups of people held hands and prayed on tv and the newsmen did not turn their cameras away. Churches from all over arrived to minister to and care for the helpless. God was at work. Gifts of all kinds poured in without reservation.
It is easy to feel a kind of survivor's guilt. It may not have hit our home, but it did hit our hearts. With each sad story I encountered, came a positive outlook on what lies ahead - many keeping faith in the Lord Jesus.
Writing this brings a kind of closure for me - a closure to apathy, to the nightmares, and to my failure to wholeheartedly grasp each moment of this life I have been given. I am fully Christ's to use as He wishes. I had just lost my focus for a little while.
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| We opened our church to gather things and deliver them to surrounding shelters. |
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| Our friends, the Johnsons were flooded and had to put all in storage. |
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| Friends - the Swain home. |
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| Diane with a smile on her face. |
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| Our friends, the Falkenstines also took on water. |
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| Friendswood area |
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| The Greens' home was less than a year old. |
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Jeremy Fleming saving some piglets out of the barn. Other animals did not survive. |
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