There are occasions when life as we know it is interrupted. It is unexpected and often very challenging. But it is always an opportunity to grow our faith. My life was interrupted in 2012 because I chose to serve those who’s life had been interrupted by a devastating storm. Below is the last entry regarding my initial deployment with Christ in Action. The experience forever a memorial in my heart and a reminder not to take life for granted!
My friend said in amazement, “How can you just drop everything and leave your life for three weeks to do that?” I said, “How can I not?”
Pearl Harbor Day
12/7/12 Friday
Historically, this is a day that lived in infamy, but for me, today is a different type of Pearl Harbor Day. It is a day to remember all that happened on this trip and mark it as a memorial of how God changed my heart. It is a time as we move into the Christmas holiday, to remember how Jesus is the Pearl of Great Price, giving His life so we may live! And it is a time to remember the harbor of our home and how precious it is to return after a long absence to those we love so dearly.
A new friend drives me to the airport and I am fascinated how quickly God knit our hearts together. I will miss her and yet, I know we will always be connected through the Holy Spirit and 3 weeks doing disaster relief together. Even if we never meet again except in heaven I know our hearts will be reunited and we can reminisce how God crossed the thread of our lives to be forever intertwined with His.
I am renewed again by seeing the power of Jesus Christ in the lives of those hit so hard by this disaster. Over and over I’ve seen His faithfulness, His provision and His hope as faces and voices light up with His presence. My coworkers have become a second family, doing life together, united with a common purpose.
As I chug home to my own harbor I am grateful again for the blessing of my daughter, our home and all the wonderful friends who cared for her while I was away. I am thinking of the comfort of being in my own bed again where it is warm and praying for those still on cots in shelters wondering if they’ll ever go home again.
I mourn with those who lost loved ones and those who feel forgotten because life has moved on for the rest of the country and Superstorm Sandy has become a thing of the past.
Lord, as I leave the Garden State let this storm be a marker to all of us about the importance of being in a garden state with You. Restore us O God! Bring revival to this nation!
“I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.” Amos 9:14