Storms of Life

We’re back from our in-house “camp out”!  Hurricane Irene (or more accurately, Tropical Storm Irene) knocked out our power early this morning, but it was just restored a little after 9pm.  I’m so thankful we didn’t have to be without water and electricity for more than a day.  I had stocked up on enough water and food (read: bananas, cereal, bagels, donuts and pop tarts) to get us through a few days, but I wasn’t looking forward to having to take cold sponge baths from the water we had pre-filled in our bathtub before losing power.  Boy, am I a wimp!

Before the storm hit, and during the night when the wind and rain were pummeling the house, I spent a lot of time thinking about two things: how dependent I am on modern conveniences, and what a huge responsibility it is to provide for and protect three young children.  As I shopped for emergency supplies, I had found myself going through worst-case scenarios in my head, trying to figure out how I could manage to keep our family safe.  Could I split this pop tart into five pieces to make it last?  It didn’t help that I had recently read only part of the amazing book “Unbroken” about a WWII airman’s survival story.  Thanks to very little time to read, and a restrictive library return policy, I only read the first portion.  So as far as I know, the protagonist is still stranded in a life raft battling sharks and catching birds for food.  I don’t think I could do that.  Especially not with three kids (Can you imagine Susie peering over the edge of a life raft, pointing at the sharks, exclaiming, “Yook, yook, Mama!  It’s yike “Nemo!”).

But in all seriousness, having kids makes me very conscious of the frailty of life.  I can get overwhelmed when I think of how dependent our kids are on Jim and me.  I’m so thankful that the Lord has temporarily entrusted their care to us, but I need to remember that ultimately, the Lord is in control of our lives.  I cannot protect my children from every danger, and trying to do so would be detrimental to us all.  I need to trust that the Lord, the One who commands the wind and the rain, is able to see His children through the physical and spiritual storms of life. 

“And [Jesus] said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (Matthew 8:26, ESV).