Storm Watch

I come from a weather-cautious family. When I was a kid, my grandmother would drag my sister and me into the hallway with quilts and games the second she saw "storm watch" scroll across the television screen. If the sky starts to get cloudly, my Dad unplugs the air conditioning and all the electronics. When my Mom hears about severe weather anywhere in Arkansas, she calls me to make sure I'm not on the road (ironically, I usually am). But as for me, I'm not the kind of person who takes extreme caution at the chance of storms. Once bad weather comes, I'll take cover--but until then, I continue to go about my life. The only problem with that is that sometimes storms catch me by surprise...

Sometimes, I don't see a storm coming until I'm already in it.

Yes, by storms I mean both physical and spiritual. The past week has been one of the craziest weeks in my life, and it totally caught me off gaurd. Last Sunday night, I found myself in a very scary and dangerous situation, and I had no idea what to do. With the help of the Holy Spirit, my friends, and the police, everything turned out alright. Because of the mess, it has been a long and tiring week, but along with the pain and confusion, I have felt so much love and support. Each day, so many people have called to check on me, pray for me, or simply ask how I was doing. I checked my phone on Monday night to find 5 voicemails--from my roommate, my friend, two leaders in my church, and the 14-year-old girl I mentor--all telling me that they were there if I needed anything. I didn't want to talk about the situation again, so I avoided talking to my family this week--I just couldn't handle explaining it again. I finally talked to my Mom yesterday, and this is the voicemail I got from her at 8:30 this morning: "Your over-protective mother is driving up whether you like it or not." She drove two hours just to take me out to lunch. I am so blessed.

Through this whole mess of a situation, I have learned three things:

1.) To be used by God, you've gotta get uncomfortable. I hear that in church all the time. In fact, I heard it last Sunday morning and last Sunday night. I walked out of chapel and got a phone call from a friend. And that's when it all started. Was stopping a close friend from committing suicide a fun way to start my busy week? No. Was it easy to call the police on my friend, knowing that it would put a DWI on her record? No. Was it worth it to literally save her life? Um, YEAH.

Jesus never said it would be easy. In fact, he said that following Him is going to be tough. You're going to be uncomfortable. You're going to have to deny yourself. You're going to be challenged. You're going to be in dangerous situations. You're going to have to fight against the enemy--so don't be surprised when he comes. Don't be surprised when life gets hard. Expect it to. And embrace it.

2.) God never intended for us to face life alone. Today in church, the leader of my Old Testament class noted how Ephesians 6 is often misinterpreted: in the original context, the word you is meant to be plural. It isn't telling us to put on the armor of God as individuals; it's telling up to get ready for battle as a church, as a whole, as an army.

We are not expected to fight alone. We can't. We are to be one body, to carry one another's burdens, to care for each other in love and compassion and prayer. And on top of that, WE HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT! To try to handle a burden on your own is selfish and pointless, because alone, we are defenseless.

3.) Do not fear storms...but be ready for them when they come.