August 24, 2013. The day that drastically changed my life. Just a normal Saturday that turned into one of the worst days of my existence. I received the call every wife dreads – the call that says, “your husband has been in a car accident”. Shock. Denial. Hysterical crying.
The people around my apartment complex must have thought I was a crazy woman – I cannot begin to imagine the scene they witnessed. A young woman walking her beagle (actually, more like dragging her beagle in a rush to get back to her apartment) HYSTERICALLY crying…you know, like an ugly, gut-wrenching cry.
I felt completely lost. I was twenty-five years old.
Upon arriving at the hospital and racing inside to the ER department, I alone walked down the longest hallway of my life…to the family room. My family joined me inside that room, and my mom sat beside me…desperately grasping my hand because she knew her daughter, her baby girl, was about to hear soul-crushing words.
Two years and two months of marriage and I was now a widow.
It’s difficult to put myself in my mom’s shoes. Even though I have a daughter now, I cannot imagine watching her go through the pain of losing her husband…her best friend. My mom knew her girl was about to face the unimaginable…a life without Jake. She stretched out her hands, opened her arms wide and never wavered. She never left me, she took every single step with me as I traveled that stormy road…but I had to choose to take her hand and accept her help.
I also had another choice to make.
I had to choose to take hold of God’s out-stretched hands and open arms. God does not promise us a life without trials or storms (what would be the point of rainbows if there were no storms). Instead, He promises to be there in the storm with us.
God makes a promise to us in 1 Corinthians 1:3-4, a promise to comfort when we are in pain. “…the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are afflicted, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” We just have to choose to want Him and choose to embrace Him.
I love Natalie Grant’s song, “Hurricane”. The lyrics talk about finding God in the storm. Not just any storm, but a hurricane. I’ve never been in an actual hurricane, but I’m sure the winds are intense and the rain impedes any vision. Hurricanes threaten and often succeed in destroying everything in their paths.
I love this part of her song…
“You’re in the wreckage underneath
Your hope is buried somewhere deep
You’re wondering how long it will keep?
It’s never too late
Never too far
For you to reach out
And take a hold of love
Step out on the edge
Don’t be afraid of it
And when you feel the rain
Call His name
He’ll find you in the hurricane”
Personal “hurricanes” may threaten to destroy us…but we have a choice.
Think back to Daniel while he was in the lion’s den (Daniel 6), or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the burning fiery furnace (Daniel 3). God did not stop Daniel from being thrown into the lion’s den or keep Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from walking into the fiery furnace. He allowed them to enter those treacherous places. They had made a choice. They chose to embrace God and He delivered them from harm.
Now, I’m not saying that all you have to do is take God’s hand and He will bring you out of that hard place. No…What I’m saying is that when you take God’s hand in the midst of your hurricane, He promises to walk with you through it.
Notice how I wrote the words, “walk with you.” Just as my mom knew she could not carry me or walk the road for me, she understood the need to stand beside me. God understands growth will come when He allows us to go through the storms. Growth will come when we choose to allow Him to walk beside us. It is not easy, it is not pleasant, it is not pretty. It IS hard, it IS messy, it IS chaotic.
The beautiful thing about a hurricane is that it passes. Of course things around you look very different, and they should. You can’t go through your own personal hurricane and not experience a change or transformation.
I have come out on the other side of my personal hurricane –
I have been forever transformed.
And through it all, I can say that because I embraced Him, God was beside me the entire time. He carried me through. He continues to carry me through. My hope and prayer is that God will use me to “comfort those who are afflicted, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God”. I founded JARSofhopeministries.com to give others hope when the storms and hurricanes of life threaten. It is a testament to what God can do in the aftermath of the hurricane. I had a choice…
What about you? Will you embrace God in the storm?
Blessings,
Becki
(If you would like to hear her song and read the lyrics at the same time, here’s the lyric video on
YouTube.) Natalie Grant – Hurricane
