Our life this past week didn’t go exactly as planned.
We didn’t plan to pack this early for Honduras.
We didn’t plan to load up and evacuate our rental house.
We didn’t plan to ride out a hurricane.
We didn’t plan to cancel Hannah’s birthday party or our family reunion.
We didn’t plan to do any of these things, but God knew all of this and allowed it.
Just like us, millions of Americans, Haitians, Cubans, and Bahamians had their lives disrupted, altered, and hundreds even had their lives to end. Hurricane Matthew has left families and businesses in a state of disrepair and upheaval. But God . . .
God knew about all of these things and He was right there with us in the storm.
He was with the Haitians that saw their homes flooded by roaring waters. He was with the families that moved to higher places to wait the storm out. He was with the doctors, nurses, police, firemen, etc. that stayed on standby to help with those that needed help. He was with the meteorologists that reported the news.
He Was, He Is, and He Will Be.
He is with us today as we celebrate power being on, and running water in our pipes. He is with those who are traveling home. He is with the ones who are cleaning debris, and looking for their belongings. He is watching over those that are making decisions for the communities, states, and the countries involved.
He will be with those who will say goodbye to their loved ones in the next week. He will be with those that must rebuild their homes or businesses. He will be with those who will protect and serve our communities, states and countries. He will be with every single one of us as we get back to our jobs and lives.
I’ll never pretend that I understand the “whys” I have when it comes to events like Hurricane Matthew. But I have learned in my lifetime that God is okay with my “whys”. I have also learned that I can trust God’s plan even when I don’t understand.
Even though our week didn’t go as planned, God gave us some great praises from this week.
1) We are packed for Honduras–all of us. Even though we may have to shift a few things around, we could hop on a plane tomorrow.
2) We got to spend a great time fellow-shipping with friends and family.
3) We had a different party with Hannah including cake and ice cream. She got presents, even though they were unwrapped.
4) We were all safe. All of our family was safe throughout the whole storm.
5) The hurricane was less intense for the Eastern U. S. than predicted, which is a blessing. It could have been so much worse.
In Him,
Julie