Storms

As Katrina blows through the Gulf Coast and Southern United States, I realize that not all the storms that arrive in life get covered on the news or by meteorologists. Tonight we spent quite a bit of time sharing with Maria and Jonathan. They have had an incredibly difficult, emotionally, and physically draining week. Yet, in the midst of it all, they are faced with life changing questions that they feel must be answered. Bills have to be paid, decisions have to be made, life has to go on.
I learned a long time ago that decisions should never be made in the heat of the moment. When crisis hits, that's the absolute, complete, and totally wrong time to be making far reaching decisions. It is at times like this that faith takes over. You must realize that, in spite of all the issues that crash into our lives, God is still in control. As a matter of fact, God is still in control even when you think He is not in control. To have faith is to believe that God is in control when the circumstances say to us that He is not in control.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) Maria should be released from the hospital. For the last 5 days she has not been in control of much of anything. She has been poked, prodded, opened up, and sewn up. She is in control of very little. Over the next 6-12 weeks she will rest and rehabilitate in order to gain some small measure of control over her body and schedule. She is having to learn the very difficult lesson of dependence and interdependence rather than self reliance.
Are we any different? I think not. Faced with storms of life we very often have little control over the things that effect us the most. Trusting God is believing that he will make us safe even when the circumstances make us unsure. Learning to lean on Jesus is sometimes very difficult for those of us who have spent a lifetime learning to lean on our own strengths and abilities. Faith, by it's very nature, has a certain kind of abandonment to it. You abandon your personal control and depend on the hand of God to work out what you are used to working out yourself. Faith is not hard - but it is impossible if we continue to lead our lives in the same human way we always do. That's why Jesus told us it didn't take much faith (only a mustard seed size worth) to make mountains move. Abandoning your will into His requires a free-fall of your present and future into an unseen hand. It is more than just a head knowledge - it requires a real heart knowledge. And that is exactly how God determined it should be.
So, blow storms blow. Katrina has done her damage. But God brings hope and life out of the midst of rubble. And, sometimes, the greatest experiences of life are the ones that started because of the storm.